


Stuck on love

by Fleppy85



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 54,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24999865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleppy85/pseuds/Fleppy85
Summary: After taking a detour through the detour Sara's car breaks down. Sofia finds her and rescues her, just like she did 3 years ago. She shows Sara where she lives now
Relationships: Sofia Curtis/Sara Sidle
Kudos: 1





	Stuck on love

Part 1

“Oh for crying out loud!”   
Sara kicked the left front wheel of her car. Great. Just precious. Wasn’t it enough that she was in a hurry and already running late? Now her car had a flat tire and was stuck in the sand of the desert. Of course she wasn’t on the main highway, of course there wasn’t a signal on her cell phone and of course she had to blame herself because Misses Smarty Pans Sidle had to take the shortcut. And now her car was stuck and she had no chance to leave.   
For a moment she thought of changing the tire, but if she – for once – used her brain before she started to do something, she knew, there was no way she could get her car-jack on solid ground to lift the car and change the tire. If she tried it, it was nothing than a waste of time and energy. And how helpful was a car with four good wheels, that was stuck in sand couldn’t get out? It made no difference if she was stuck with three or four good tires, she was stuck and that was the main problem. Bloody desert.   
Why again did she move to Vegas? Grissom Right. He was as reason to move to Vegas as good as her shortcut. Instead of realizing what she felt for him, that she came here because of him, him threw himself in the arms of another woman. A whore. To be fair, Lady Heather was an amazing woman, she was smart, she had style and she was a challenge. Sara wasn’t sure if she had style, but she was a challenge and smart too – well most times she was smart. Not today.   
Did she tell anybody where she was? Kind of. She had told Greg, she was off to Los Angeles for two days to see the beach and so surfing. He had planed to join her but changed his mind the last second. He knew – like the rest of her shift – she due to be back tonight, but he had no idea where she was right now. Nobody did. Hell, not even Sara knew exactly where she was. Only that she was somewhere around the border between California and Nevada, probably around five miles away from the main highway, that was closed in both direction because of an accident. She didn’t want to wait for hours in the traffic jam, so she took this shortcut. Now she knew, it had been wiser to be stuck on the highway.   
She wiped the sweat away from her forehead with her hand. It was a hundred and ten degrees, not the weather you wanted to be out in the desert. Not the weather for a long walk back to the highway and not the weather to get lost in the desert. The rule is to stay with your car when you’re stuck or lost until somebody finds you. Most people die because they start to walk away and get lost, dehydrated and lose conscious.   
She had to get the attention of whoever was around. Sighing, she left the shade of her car and walked into the desert. At least here were some kind of bushes. Ignoring the heat and the sand in her shoes, she took her pocket knife and cut some branches, threw them all on top of each other and got the lighter out of her pocket. Sometimes smoking wasn’t a bad habit. At least not when you forgot your lighter in the car of your date and she could make a little fire now. Her plan was that somebody saw the smoke and – afraid of a fire – took a closer look. Not that many people cared when there was a bushfire in the desert, but what else could she do?   
Talking about doing something. What was she supposed to do now? She got back to her car, sat next to it and stared into the desert. So, here she was. In the desert. She, her car, the flat tire and a lot of sand. Snakes, scorpions, flies, coyotes and more buried bodies than she had seen in her entire life. What a lovely place to be. Welcome to Nevada.   
At least she wasn’t buried under a car. Of course this thought had crept up her subconscious and was very much present. The night Natalie had changed Sara’s life. The night she thought she had to die. And probably as well a reason why Sara was single again. As much as she had been happy to see Grissom on her way to hospital, he couldn’t give her what she needed to get over this night. One reason was, she had no idea what she needed to get over this night. She still wasn’t over it. There had been many times she left her bed to wander around her apartment because she couldn’t sleep, couldn’t face the nightmares anymore.   
“There are ten green bottles hanging on the ball, there are ten green bottles hanging on the wall. And if one green bottle should accidentally fall, there are nine green bottles hanging on the wall”, she started to sing, followed by a very confused look. Was she losing it? Where came this old, stupid kid song from? She hadn’t sung this song in over thirty years, the nursery nurse in kindergarten used to sing it with her and the other children. In San Francisco. Why did she sing it now and here? That made no sense.   
“I’m going crazy, great. Maybe I should go and see a therapist.” Sara had refused to go and see a therapist, against the wish of her boss and her friends. If she wanted somebody to know all her problems, she would buy a dog. This way she was sure, nobody used the new knowledge against her.   
“Okay, what now? Me singing is crazy and scary, there’s no radio station and even if there were, if I let run the car, I’ll be out of gas soon.” And she needed some gas in case she was stuck here for longer. The nights were cold, she could use the heater.   
She could look for some more wood for her fire, that was burning down. But the sun and the heat were to big, she didn’t want to get burnt. Plus she didn’t have so much water in the car, she needed to rest her body so that she didn’t use too much water. She could remember when she walked around the desert after she freed herself from under the car. Never ever would she risk to dehydrate again.   
Slowly she got up, opened the backdoor of her car, climbed inside, closed the door and opened all windows. There was no reason to sit and wait, she could also lay down and sleep. If anybody came alone, he or she would stop and see her. The heat made her tired, she didn’t sleep much the last two nights and she was annoyed. With herself, with the car, with flat tire, with the street, that wasn’t a street and anything else in the world.   
Why didn’t she stay on the highway? Why didn’t she take a whole week off and were still in Los Angeles? Why did she take two days off at all? This had never happened if she had stayed in Las Vegas, worked and did, what she did every day. But no, she had to have some fun, had to go to Los Angeles and now she was here, stuck and warm and…asleep. 

“Sara?”  
What? Who called her name? Who was in her room…and why was the aircon broken again? Wait! This wasn’t her room! Leather, gray, narrow, this was the backseat of her car. What was she….right the shortcut. The flat tire. The sand. The…  
“Sara!”  
Carefully she sat up. Her back wasn’t happy with the position she had for…she had no idea for how long. It wasn’t completely dark, so it couldn’t be that late. Somehow the face looked familiar to her. Where had she seen this face before? Was that…  
“Sofia?” What the hell did the detective do here? Sara hadn’t seen her since…the day before she got abducted. She knew from Greg that Sofia had been there, had found her, but Sara got never the chance to thank her, Sofia was gone when Sara was out of hospital. And nobody could tell her where the blonde was gone.   
“What are you doing here?”  
“I’m stuck.” Sara tried to push the fog in her head away. She felt dizzy, she needed to drink. Slowly she reached for her water bottle. Empty. When did she…did she drink while she was asleep?   
“You’ve a flat tire.”  
“Yes and the car is stuck.” She blinked a few times. “Are you here by car?”  
“Of course.” Sofia opened the door. “Come on.”  
“Huh?”  
“I don’t have a rope with me to pull you out. There’s no way I can call for help, the cell phones is out of signal. That means, I’ve to drive to the next city and I didn’t plan to leave you here. You don’t look like you enjoy a night in the desert. Are you alright?”  
“I feel a little bit dizzy.”  
“Did you drink?”  
“The bottle is empty…I can’t remember.”  
“Alright.” Sofia took Sara’s hand and pulled her carefully out of her car. When Sara tried to stand in the sand, her feet felt like jelly and Sofia had to support her.   
“You sit in here.” The blonde got the brunette to her own car, opened the passenger door and pushed Sara into the car. “There is some water on the left, drink. I take care of your car and then we’ll leave.”  
Sofia closed the door after she saw how Sara drank, went back to Sara’s car. She opened the trunk, got a bag out, closed all doors and the windows, locked the car with the key, that was left on the backseat and went back to her own car.   
Sara had finished the bottle of water and put on the seatbelt.   
“Sorry.” She pointed to the empty bottle.   
“In the glove compartment is a new one – cooled.”  
“Thanks.”   
“There are also some Snickers in case you’re hungry.”  
Sara didn’t know if she was hungry, but her stomach told her as soon as Sofia mentioned Snickers. Yes, she was hungry.   
“Thanks. Again.” Sara finished another half of the bottle and a Snickers. After that she felt better. She wasn’t dizzy anymore and she could think clearly again.   
“I don’t want to sound ungraceful, but what are you doing here?”  
“The highway was closed, a major accident, I thought, I try it this way. There is a shortcut, around a mile away from where you and your car were. I saw the car and wondered, what somebody does in this place of the desert, in the evening. In case somebody needed help, I drove to the car to make sure everything is alright. And there I found you, sound asleep.”  
“Yes, I thought, there is no reason to stay away and I drink too much when I’m awake. Looks like I drank also while I was sleeping.”  
“It is still over ninety degrees, your body needs water.”  
“Yes. I didn’t plan to stay in the desert. What time is it?”  
“Almost nine.”  
“Damn, I need to be in the lab.”  
“I could drive you to Vegas, but you’ll never make it on time. It makes more sense when you call them, tell them what happened and take a night off.”  
“I just had two nights off.”  
“As long as you haven’t changed, you’ll have plenty of holiday days left.” Sofia smiled a bit.   
“I do.”   
“See. You know where we are?”  
“I’ve an idea.”  
“Around fifty miles away from Vegas. We won’t get your car out of the sand today, you need to wait until tomorrow.”  
“Damn.” Sara cursed. She knew Sofia was right, it took too long to get her car out of the sand and go back to Vegas.   
“You’ll get a signal soon, call them, tell them you need another night.”  
“Yeah.” Sara closed her eyes. “Do you go to Vegas?”  
“No.”  
“Where are you taking me?”  
“Do I hear some fear, Sara? I don’t abduct you, I take you to my place. Like you will have noticed, I don’t work in Las Vegas anymore. I live around twenty miles out of the city and you can stay there. We’ll go back to your in the morning and you’ll be back in Vegas by lunchtime.”  
“I’m not scared, I’m just…confused”  
“I can see that.”  
And tired. Sara closed her eyes. Why was she tired? She had slept in her car. Or was it because she had been dehydrated again? The next time she drove through the desert, she would have a gallon of water with her. And there was no way she would take another shortcut again. The next time, she and her car stay on the highway, no matter how long the traffic jam was. 

“I hate to say this again but: Sara, wake up!” Sofia shook Sara carefully and the eyes of the brunette popped open.   
“Where are we?”  
“Call it home for tonight.” Sofia smiled and got out of her car.  
Home for tonight? Sara wasn’t sure if that, what she saw, was a home, but it was impressive. There was a huge building in front of them, three levels, a lot of windows ablaze with lights. Two huge sheds on each side of the house and…a wooden fence. Sara turned. The fence didn’t end. It was on the left, the right and behind her. So was a big wooden gate, where she could see a man on top. Did she end in an old western story?   
“Where the hell are we? This looks like a fort.”  
“It is. Around ten thousand square yards big.”  
“And you live here?”  
“Yes.”  
“But…” Sara didn’t understand a thing. Sofia owned a fort?   
“Do you know Vincent Trent?”  
“No.”  
“Bubbles?”  
“Bubbles? Isn’t that this man, who made a fortune with champagne?”  
“Yes. His real name is Vincent Trent, he is French and this is his residence when he is in the U.S., which is quite often because here is the biggest market for his champagne and the sparkling wine. I’m his head of security.”  
“So you don’t own this place, you work here.”  
“Yes, I work and live here. The job requires that I’m around twenty-four-seven.”   
A man in his late fifties came out of the house. He wore a cowboy hat, jeans and black boots.   
“Welcome back, Sofia.”  
“Good evening Henry. Anything happened while I was away?”  
“No, everything was fine. Monsieur Trent called earlier, I told him you’re out. He wants to inform us, he’ll be here next week and needs a pick-up from the airport. He’ll let us know which flight he’ll take.”  
“Did he mention how long he’ll stay?”  
“No.”  
“Well, there’s a wine trade fair in two weeks, I think, he’ll stay for that. Did you inform the others?”  
“Of course.”  
“Thanks, good job.”  
“No problem at all.” He smiled and left them alone.   
“Are you allowed to take me here?” Sara asked carefully. Everything seemed to be very organized, planed and the fort wasn’t a sign, that strangers were welcome.  
“As long as Bubbles isn’t here I’m in charge for everything. If anybody asks you who you are and why you here, tell them, you’re with me and nobody will bother you. Come on, let’s get inside, I bet you’re still hungry. A Snickers isn’t a dinner.”  
“It’s a start.” Sara took her bag and followed Sofia in the house.   
Behind the front door was a big lobby. A staircase on the left and right side of the them got up to the second level. Everything was in white – golden, a huge luster with real candles hung in the middle of the ceiling, huge portraits of important looking people were on the walls.   
“Look who’s back home.” A man around thirty with a young boy on his arms came down the stairway on the left. He had long black hair while the boy had short brown hair.   
“Mommy!”  
“Hey big boy.” Sofia took the boy and gave him a kiss. “Did you miss me?”  
Mommy? Sara wasn’t sure what surprised her more. The fact that Sofia found in the middle of nowhere or that she had a son. Okay, they hadn’t seen each other for over three years, a lot of time, enough time to get pregnant and Sara guessed the boy’s age of around two.   
“Yes.”  
“I missed you too.”  
“That?” The boy pointed to Sara.  
“That is Sara, we worked together. Her car broke down in the desert and I took her with me. Be a good boy and say hello to her if you like.”  
“Hi.” The boy looked skeptical at Sara. It looked like he wasn’t sure if he could trust the strange woman.  
“Hello.” Sara bent down. “I’m Sara. Do you tell me your name?”  
“Josh.”  
“That’s a nice name.”  
He looked at Sofia.   
“Okay, come here, baby.” She took him back on her arms. “He’s a little bit shy, give him some time. Let me introduce you to Stephen. Steve, that’s Sara, we worked together in Vegas.”  
“Howdy.”  
Howdy? Sara had to swallow down a loud laughter. Stephen seemed to be a cowboy by heart.  
“Hi.”  
“Did the little man behave?”  
“He always does.”  
“Liar. Did you run through the house again?”  
The way Josh shook his head it was obvious, he did.   
“Did Steo tell you to stop?”  
Again he shook his head.  
“Another liar. Can the big liar take the little liar to bed?”  
“Sure.” Stephen smiled. “And we don’t lie, we’ve our own kind of truth.”  
“Which is for the rest of the world a lie.” Sofia’s face made it clear, she wasn’t mad with one of them. “Thanks Step. Come on, Sara, let’s have a look if we can get something from the kitchen.”  
“Shall I take that bag with me?” Stephen asked Sara.  
“Uhm…”  
“Yes, take it. Sara will stay the night, I’ll bring her back to her car tomorrow morning.”  
“You could order one of the guys to get it now.”  
“And how much would you like it if I’d ask you to get thirty miles in the desert, all dirt road of course, to pull a car out of the sand? I’m sure everybody would be delighted about this job. It’s almost ten, everybody wants to stay awake until two or three in the morning.”  
“You’re too soft hearted, Sofia.”  
“You must know, you and the little liar take advantage of that all the time.”   
“Maybe you’re just fair.”  
“Maybe.”  
“Whatever it is, you’re the boss. Come on, Josh, time to go to bed. And we need to brush your teeth pretty good today. Mommy busted us once with some little…with our kinds of truth, she won’t be that nice if you don’t brush your teeth.”  
“’kay.” Josh took Stephen’s hand and started to climb the stairs. After the second he stopped, turned and looked at Sofia. “Mommy to me?”  
“I’ll come to you later, yes.”  
“’kay.” He smiled and went on.   
Sofia’s eyes laid on her son for a few more seconds, before she turned and got her attention back on Sara.   
“Kitchen time.” They left the lobby through a door and ended in a hallway. Sofia turned left and Sara followed her. They passed around a dozen closed doors before Sofia opened a door to the left and Sara found herself in a big kitchen. Even it was late, there was still somebody cooking.   
“Hola Maria, qué tal?” Maria was a woman Sara guessed in her early sixties. She had long hair, that had been black once, but was more gray now.   
“Hola Senora Sofia, muy bien, gracias. Y ustes?”  
“Muy bien, gracias. Éste es mi amigo Sara, nosostros tiene hambre. Tienes cualquier cosa bueno comer para nosotros, por favor?”  
“Sí, claro. Hago Tortialla allí.”  
“Sueana marivilloso. Tienes tortiallas vegetarinas?”  
“Sí. Teneís un asiento en el comedor que traeré su alimento.”  
“Gracias Maria.” Sofia gave Sara a sign to follow her. Through a door they came into a little dining room.   
“I’m impressed.”  
“It’s a nice room, yes. Bubbles uses it for meals in small groups.”  
“I thought more of your Spanish.”  
“Oh, that. I took some Spanish lessons. A lot of workers here are from Mexico, they do speak English, but their Spanish is much better. And I see it as a sign of respect to learn a bit of their language because they did the same with my language.”  
“Some people might say, they came to your country, they had to learn the language.”  
“We both know there are a lot of immigrants, who don’t speak English. Some of them live here all their life.”  
“Yes.”  
“Did you understand what I talked with Maria?”  
“Something with vegetarian tortillas.”  
“Yes, I hope you’re fine with tortillas.”  
“I would be fine with another Snickers.”  
“That’s not a proper meal.”  
“Depends. It’s really good when you’re stuck in the desert and get rescued.”  
“It’s easier to transport than a tortilla.”  
“I hope she doesn’t have to cook them for us.”  
“She’s in the kitchen the whole night. Some of the people here are on duty the whole night. Some for security reasons, we’ve some mares, that are due with their foals. Plus the fact, that some guys drive to Vegas after their shift to have some fun, come back late at night and are hungry. It doesn’t matter what time you’re hungry in this house, there’ll always be any kind of food around. It’s one of the things Bubbles insists on. He says, only a satisfied person can do good work and he doesn’t accept anything less than good work.”  
“That’s why he hired you as his head of security.”  
Sofia smiled. “That and the fact, that he couldn’t get me.”  
“Your boss hit on you?”  
“Yes. For a short time.”  
“Is he…I mean, it’s not my business…”  
“He isn’t the father of Josh, no. I was pregnant when I got this job.”  
“Okay.”  
“I was pregnant the last time we saw each other.”  
“Really?” Sara was surprised. She hadn’t known that Sofia was pregnant. She hadn’t known that there was a guy in Sofia’s life. Not that she was interested in that, she was happy with Grissom and both of them didn’t care about the private life of their colleagues. But she thought, a serious relationship and a pregnancy was something, you knew of.   
“Yes. Josh’s father isn’t in my life or the life of my son anymore. It wasn’t anything serious, but it got me pregnant. I didn’t want to work as a detective anymore, didn’t want to risk my life every day, didn’t want my child to live with the knowledge, people shot at his or her mother.”  
“And head of security of a rich man is safer?”  
“Nobody ever shot at me. We had several people trying to break and enter the premises, but most times they try that during the night and my people out there are pretty good. They earn better money than a detective and everybody wants to keep their job and the money.”  
“Of course.”   
Maria came into the room with two plates and two bottles of beer. On each plate was a big tortilla and some salad.   
“Gracias Maria.”  
“No hay de que.” She turned to Sara. “Enjoy your meal.”  
“Thanks. I’m sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.”  
“We’re in America, you don’t have to speak Spanish, Honey.”  
“Sofia does.”  
“Yes, she does. I taught her.” Maria grinned, petted Sofia’s shoulder and left the room.   
“Are these people so nice to you because you’re in charge when Trent isn’t here or because they like you?” Sara smirked.   
“They’re all scared that’s why they’re nice. I’ve a gun, I’m in charge and if they’re not nice, they have to take care of Josh and that’s the biggest threat.”  
“Your son didn’t look like a big threat.”  
“He’s very active, you need to be fast and alert when you look after him. According to my mom, he is like me when I was young. Always on the run.”  
“Yeah, chasing suspects.”  
“Evidence.”  
“That was still in the hands of an armed suspect.”  
“No price no glory. As far as I can remember, you bent the rules too. Sometimes.”  
“Sometimes. If there’s no other way.”  
“There’s always a way.” Sofia finished her tortilla. “Want some dessert?”  
“No, thanks. I’m full. You know, I could call a taxi and go back to Vegas.”  
“And why would a smart woman like you do something stupid like that? Or is somebody waiting for you?”  
Sara knew Sofia talked about Grissom. Of course. The last time they had seen each other, Grissom had told their friends about their relationship. Sofia couldn’t know that Sara and Grissom weren’t together anymore.   
“No, but I don’t want you in trouble.”  
“Bubbles won’t give me any trouble. This isn’t a prison, I’m allowed to bring people here. As long as I make sure they’re no threat for the security and I believe, you won’t try to rob the house. And if you try, my men will get you before you can leave the premises and then you’ll get a free ride back to Vegas.”  
“I promise I’ll behave.”  
“Good girl.” Sofia took the plates and the empty bottles. “I’ll be back in a second.”  
Sara watched her leaving the room and got her attention to the room. The table was big enough for six people, the chairs were big and very comfortable. You could sit her for hours and won’t feel sore. A painting of a landscape was on one of the walls, it showed a vineyard and because the owner of this building was French, Sara assumed it was a painting of his vineyards in France. She had seen a few paintings, Bubbles seemed to like paintings. But she didn’t recognize anything famous. No Picasso, no Monet, no van Gogh.   
“Are you tired?” Sofia was back.  
“Yes. I don’t know why, I slept in the car – yours and mine.”  
“I guess it’s because of the dehydration. We’ve a doc here, if you want, he can check you.”  
“No, I’ll be alright. All I needed was some water and something to eat.”  
“You’ll have a bottle of water in your room, if you need anything more, like I said, the kitchen is open twenty-four seven. Just come here and somebody will fix you a drink or a snack.”  
“I think, I’ll sleep baby as soon as I’m in bed.”  
“In that case, I’ll bring you to your room.” Sofia turned off the lights after they left the room and guided Sara to a stairway, she hadn’t seen before. Well, the house looked pretty big from the outside, Sara assumed there were some stairways.   
On the second level Sofia guided her through a hallway to a door, she used a keycard for. The door popped open and another hallway appeared. This time it was a small one and in contrast to the hallways before, this was looked like somebody was actually living here. There were some cars on the floor, a football and shoes next to a shelf instead of inside.   
“I give them some credit for brushing the teeth, but they’ll lose the credit for this mess.”  
“Is this your private place?”  
“Yes, I’ve this little apartment within the building. Josh’s room, my room, a guest room, kitchen, bathroom, living room. Bigger than my last apartment, I don’t pay any rent and have it close to work.”  
“What means, they can call you every time.”  
“There’s always a downside.”  
“As the one in charge, you need to be around.”  
“I am.” Sofia opened the first door on the left. “This is your room.”   
Sara entered the room. A queen bed, a wardrobe, a shelf with books, a little dresser and a nightstand on each side of the bed were the furniture. A thick carpet, that let Sara walk quietly through the room and thick curtains in front of the window gave the room a comfortable warm style.   
“Looks good.” She had a towel on her bed, neatly folded to a swan. “You’ve a little artist around.”  
“Yeah, Steo likes to create things. You need to share the bathroom with Josh and me, there’s no second bathroom here.”  
“That’s no problem.”  
“Good. I’ll be awake from six, will wake Josh up at seven, that means our breakfast time will be approximately around half past seven. Feel free to join us and after that, we’ll get your car out of the sand.”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
“Do you need anything else? Some fresh clothes?”  
“No, I’m alright. Thanks.”  
“You’re welcome. Have a good night, Sara. If you need anything, my room is opposite to yours, the bathroom is next to my room.”  
“Okay. Have a good night too.”  
Sofia left the room and closed the door. She checked on Josh, who was asleep with his teddy in his arms. She kissed him, tucked him in and went into the living room. Stephen sat on the sofa, reading a book.  
“Go to bed, woman”, He said without lifting his head.  
“I will. What about you?”  
“I’ll finish this chapter.”  
“I’ll take Josh with me when we get Sara’s car free tomorrow, so you can sleep in.”  
“Something new. Bubbles comes home next week, I heard.”  
“Yes.”  
“We’ll have some good news. Beautiful Lady gave us a healthy and wonderful foal today. A little stallion and he looks like his mother.”  
“Really? Damn I missed that. Did everything go on well?”  
“She did a perfect job, just like the last time.”  
“What about Mariposa?”  
“She has a few more days, the vet will come in tomorrow. I’m not sure if we shouldn’t leave somebody with her from now on.”  
“Yeah.” Vincent Trent did not only own a few good vineyards, he also owned some very expensive horses, mostly racing horses. When they weren’t on the road to win him a lot money, they were here on the ranch. And when a mare was in foal, they stayed here until they got separated from their foal. The horses weren’t exactly Sofia’s part of the job as a head of security, but she was in charge and that meant for her, she had to make sure, everything and everybody was alright.  
“I promised Josh we’ll spend a night in the barn, we’ll do that tomorrow and I’ll have an eye on her.”  
“That’s not your job.”  
“It’s not your job neither and we both know, as soon as you’ve finished your chapter, you’ll go down and make sure, Mariposa is alright.”  
“Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.”  
“Yes.”  
“Like once a detective and a CSI always a detective and a CSI.”  
“How do you mean that?”  
“You detected your old colleague in the desert. You’re a smart woman, wanna calculate the possibility of that? It will be something around zero point zero, but you did it. A good detective takes care of the CSI, you did that.”  
“I found her already once in the desert.”  
“I know.”  
“How?”  
“You told me about that case and when you and her left the car, you mentioned her name, I knew it was her.”  
“You’ve a damn good memory, how comes you always forget to tell Josh to tidy up before he goes to bed?”  
“Maybe because I think, there are more important things in a boy’s life than a tidy hallway. Clean teeth, for example.”  
“Yeah.” Sofia bent down, hugged Stephen and kissed him on his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to rest a little bit.”  
“I won’t forget. Sleep tight, Sofia.”

Sofia woke up without her alarm clock. Her body was used to wake up around this time and usually she was awake before the music of her stereo could wake her up. She liked it better this way. After a shower, she had a look around the house, checked in with the people, who worked during the night if anything had happened and got back into her apartment.   
She didn’t need to wake Josh up, he was sitting in his pajama on the floor in his room, playing with his cars on the carpet, that looked like Las Vegas CBD. Next to him was a dressed Sara, with wet hair.   
“Good morning to both of you.”  
“Morning.” Sara looked up and smiled.   
“Mommy!” Josh got on his feet and ran to his mother, arms wide open. Sofia took him on her arms, kissed him and held on to him.   
“Hey Joshi, how are you? Did you sleep good?”  
“Yes.”  
“That’s good. Did you wake Sara up?”  
“No.”  
“I met him when I came out of the bathroom, he came out of your room. I assumed, you were outside, to make sure everything was alright during the night and asked him, if we should play a bit.”  
“Looks like nobody wants to sleep in today. Okay, what do you guys think about some breakfast?”  
“Choc flake!”  
“I know you want chocolate flakes, but you’ll eat something else, young man. There won’t be anything with chocolate for breakfast – despite some chocolate milk. When it comes to food, you need to settle with wholegrain bread, cheese, honey or jam.”  
“Jam.”  
“Good. Sara, do you want something special? I’ve only the basic stuff here, I can make some eggs, but no pancakes or anything like that.”  
“I’m fine with bread, cheese and jam.”  
“You’re both easy to please, that’s nice. Okay, let’s make some breakfast.” She kept Josh on her arm and carried him into the kitchen.   
“Can you set the table, Honey?”   
“Yes.” Josh walked to a cupboard and started to get plastic plates out.  
“We eat from plastic plates, I don’t want to let him carry the good china stuff. But you’ll get a decent cup of coffee.” Sofia explained to Sara.   
“Plastic, paper, who cares? It’s about what’s on the plates.”  
“Fresh bread.” Sofia opened the bread machine and immediately the smell of fresh bread was all around the room. It didn’t take more than a second and Sara’s stomach told them, she was hungry.   
“Sorry.”  
“This happens to everybody. Josh, do you want chocolate spread or peanut butter?”  
“Choc.”  
“Of course. Sara, anything sweet?”  
“Peanut butter and jelly?”  
“We have that too. Top shelf, at the back, hidden so that nobody, especially no little man, can reach up and eat everything with a spoon or his bare fingers.”  
“He wouldn’t do that.”  
“He did.” Sofia had caught her son one afternoon, sitting on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, one hand in the glass of chocolate spread, the other one in the glass of peanut butter. His face was covered with both and there were traces of jelly all around him.   
“Oh, he looks so innocent.”  
“Yes, the face of an angel but the rest comes closer to the devil – sometimes.”  
“Let me guess, something else he got from his mother; besides the blue eyes.”  
“Only if you believe the nasty person, who is my mother.” Sofia cut the bread. She had her back to the table when she spoke: “Josh, don’t you dare!”   
Sara looked at the boy, who was at the table, a spoon in one hand, the other one tried to get the glass with chocolate spread. He looked guilty and busted but at the same time, he and both women knew, he’d try it again.  
“Do you have eyes on your back?”  
“Yes. You get them when you become a mother. One day, I’ll cuff you to the chair, Josh, do you hear me?”  
“No.”  
“You’ll see my friend.”  
“Steo help.”  
“Steo won’t help you then. You’ll be cuffed and I’ll feed you with spinach.”  
“Yuck!”   
“Spinach Is good for you.”  
“Yuck.”  
“Be a good boy and you can have something else.”  
“Choc.”  
“Carrots.”  
“Corn?”  
“Okay, you’ll have corn for lunch.”  
“Cue?”  
“No, we don’t have time for a barbecue. But we’ll have on Sunday, okay? Today we’ll get Sara’s car free and the rest of the week, you have to go to daycare to see you friends.”  
“’Kay.”  
Sofia put the bread and coffee on the table and started to make a bread for Josh. She cut it in little pieces and the boy started to eat – the side with the chocolate spread first.   
Sara watched it with amusement. That was a good trick, he bit of the spread with a little bit of bread and left the rest of the bread on the table.   
“Josh!” Sofia’s voice became firm and the boy ate the rest of the bread too.   
“He tries everything.” Sara chuckled.   
“Yes. I hope he’ll get a child like himself later.”  
Sara started to laugh out loud.   
“What?”  
“You…sound…like…your mother.” Sara had problems to get the words out of her mouth in way, that Sofia could understand her.   
“You are not a really nice guest, Sara Sidle. I’m not sure if I want to bring you to your car, maybe I’ll leave you somewhere alone in the desert.”  
“You won’t.” Sara laughed.   
“Don’t bet on it. Josh, what would you like to eat now?”  
“Jam.”  
Sofia smiled. She had to make sure that her son didn’t eat too much chocolate, but she never had to worry, that he didn’t eat at all. Only when it came to spinach, he refused to eat. That was something Sofia could live with. 

“Looks who’s back, the little jerboa.” Greg teased when Sara entered the break room.  
“Very funny, Greg. What’s that on your head? An exploded rat? Oh no, it’s your hair.” She sat next to him.  
“How was your extra day off?”  
“You know my car was stuck in the sand and I was for hours in the desert? Off the roads, in the middle of nowhere?”  
“Tell me, how did you end up there?”  
“I wanted to take a shortcut, there was a huge accident on the highway. Unfortunately I got my car not only into something sharp – that looked like a two inch long piece of iron when I got it out of the tire – but also so deep into the sand, that the car didn’t get out anymore. No need to mention, there was no signal and I couldn’t call for help.”  
“So what did you do? You didn’t walk away from your car, did you?”  
“No. I fell asleep.”  
“What?”  
“There wasn’t much time for sleep in L.A. and there was nothing else to do in the desert. Plus it was hot, I wanted to save some water and ended on my backseat, sound asleep after a few seconds.”  
“Until a brave park ranger saved you?”  
“No, she isn’t a park ranger.”  
“She? A hiker? It was over one hundred degrees, who walks around the desert when it’s that hot?”  
“She didn’t walk around, she took the shortcut, I wanted to take but missed somehow. And you know her.”  
“I do? Who?”  
“Sofia.”  
“Our Sofia?” Greg’s face was one big questionnaire.   
“She isn’t our Sofia anymore  
“But she was. What…wow…why…was she there? Where is she now? I mean, where does she work now? It’s been how long…?”  
“Over three years.”  
“Yeah. She never told me where and why she left. Did she tell you?”  
“No. When I came back she was gone.”  
“Did she tell you yesterday?”  
“I can tell you, she works for Vincent Trent.”  
“Vincent Trent like Bubbles?”  
“Yes.”  
“Wow! Okay in that case it’s easy to see why she left. He’ll pay a lot more than LVPD.”  
“I’m sure he does.” As Sara was sure, that wasn’t the reason why Sofia left the department. The main reason had been because she was pregnant and wanted something more safe to give her son a bigger chance to grow up with a mother. Greg couldn’t know that and Sara didn’t see it as her duty to tell him. That was Sofia’s private life, if she wanted her old colleagues to know about her son, she would come here and tell them. She didn’t do so in three year – as far as Sara knew – and from the way Greg reacted, it was this way. He had been here the whole time.   
“Is she his bodyguard? Goes with him to all these exciting places all over the world?”  
“No, she’s the head of his security team in Nevada.”  
“The Bubbles Fort. She works there?”  
“Yes.”  
“Wow. Again. She works for Bubbles and she found you in the middle of the desert. When will she come to Vegas?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Why don’t you know?”  
“Why should I?”  
“Maybe you want to thank her with a dinner or whatever.”  
“I said thank you a few times, Greg.”  
“She saved your life, Sara. You can do a little bit more than say thank you.”  
“Like what?”  
“Well, I know how you could thank me, I think Sofia would settle with something like a dinner. And she can come along before that, say hello. I’d like to see her again.”  
“Now you know where she lives, you can go there.”  
“Right. As if they let me in when I bang on the door and ask for her.”  
“Try it. I’m sure they’ll tell her you’re there and she’ll order them to let you in. Or comes to the door herself to greet you.”  
“That’s not the point, Sara.”  
“What is the point, Greg?”  
“You need to thank her.”  
“And you need to mind your own business.” She took a magazine, that was on the table to make it clear, the conversation was over for her.   
What did Greg expect her to do? Invite Sofia to a dinner in an expensive restaurant? Buy her jewelry or send her flowers? That was overstate it. Wasn’t it?   
Okay, maybe she should have asked the blonde for her cell phone number to stay in contact. Maybe she should have offered something like a dinner. Not that she imagined that Sofia would take that offer. They hadn’t been friends, only colleagues, and needed a long time before they went on alright. Plus the fact, that Sofia was head of security and had better things to do than coming to Vegas for dinner when she got every evening a dinner at the Fort. After all, Sara knew, the kitchen was open all night, there was at least one cook, who made you whatever you asked for. Why drive to Las Vegas to eat a steak?

Part 2

“Hi, my name is Sara Sidle, I work with the Las Vegas crime lab and I’d like to talk to Sofia Curtis.” Okay, maybe she made a fool out of herself by calling the only number she could find of the Fort. A number, she only got because she bent the rules a little bit and used the department computer to find it. There was no number listed in the public phone book and also Sofia’s number was nowhere to find.   
“One moment please.”   
The voice of the man made it impossible for Sara to figure out if he thought she was a crazy pain in the ass and told her to wait for a moment, so he could pretend that he looked for Sofia or her number or he was really looking for it. At least the music they had in the waiting loop wasn’t too bad. A song of the Beatles not too loud. When the song stopped and was replaced by a beep, Sara thought, somebody had hang up on her only to hear Sofia’s voice a second later.  
“The LVPD calls, I hope it’s nothing serious, Miss Sidle.”  
“Uhm…no…” Miss Sidle? Were they supposed to pretend they didn’t know each other? “I can…is it a bad time?”  
“No, relax, Sara.”  
Sara. That sounded better. That sounded like she didn’t disturb. Sara had no idea what were Sofia’s work times, it was obvious that the day, she had taken Sara back to her car, she had worked a different time than usually. Maybe she had disturbed the blonde in an important meeting about Bubbles next visit to Las Vegas.   
“I had no idea when you don’t have to work, when it’s a good time to call you…”  
“Now is a good time. What can I do for you?” Sofia’s voice sounded relaxed, maybe she was really not in an important meeting and had called Sara by her surname to distract her. If she had, it had worked.   
“I was wondering when you come the next time to Las Vegas.”  
“I’ve been there today.”  
“Really?” She missed the chance. Why didn’t she call yesterday?   
“Yes. Why?”  
“Uhm…nothing…only…I thought…maybe we can meet for dinner.”  
“And why would we do that?”   
If Sara hadn’t been this confused, she had heard the teasing sound of Sofia’s voice and knew, the blonde was playing with her. But Sara was confused, asked herself the whole time, if she did the right thing and so she didn’t get what Sofia was doing.  
“I don’t know…”  
“You must have a reason why you bother to call. This isn’t a listed number, you used a department computer, risked some trouble, only to call and ask me, if we can have dinner together. A little bit too much trouble for no reason, don’t you think?”  
“Okay, just forget it.” Now it was Sara who hang up. And buried her face in her hands. She had made a complete fool out of herself. Why did she let Greg talk her into doing this? It was obvious Sofia wasn’t interested in meeting her, having dinner with her or anything else, that had to do with her. She had been helpful, had done the same for anybody else. Why did Sara think, it was something special? Only because she had stayed in Sofia’s apartment? Had dinner and breakfast with her and Josh? They were old colleagues, it had been strange if Sofia had treated her, like they didn’t know each other.   
All not a reason to meet after work for a dinner. No reason to drive twenty miles to see Sara in a restaurant. Just plain stupid. Clearly a case of not using her brain and acting stupid.   
Well, at least she could tell herself now, she had tried. There was no reason why she should feel guilty that she didn’t thank Sofia in a proper way. There was…her cell phone rang. Unknown number. Not again somebody who wanted to sell her something.  
“Yes?”  
“You’re still not very polite, Sara. Didn’t nobody tell you that it’s rude to hang on on somebody?” Sofia’s voice was all tease.  
“I didn’t want…it didn’t sound like you liked the idea.”  
“I was teasing you, Sara. Is your head alright or did you damage your brain in the desert?”  
“No. No I’m fine.”  
“I’ll be back in Vegas in two days, we can meet for dinner before you have to work if you want. Do you have any special place in mind?”  
“Yes.” Did she? Apparently her voice knew more than the rest of her body.   
“Will it be a surprise?”  
“Uhm…yes.” A surprise also for Sara, who had to come up with a special place now.   
“Okay. So where will I meet you?”  
“The lab?”  
“Dinner at eh lab?”  
“No, the guys want to see you.”  
“I doubt they’ll be there at that time, but okay, we can meet at the lab. Six o’clock?”  
“Perfect.”  
“Alright, I’ll see you then.”  
“Great. See you then.”  
“And Sara?”  
“Yes?”  
“Now you’re allowed to hang up.” Sofia laughed. 

Sara didn’t intent to make a fool out of herself again. She was sure, she had done that enough for the rest of the year. She arrived at the car park of the department on time, pleased to see Sofia standing there. She stopped her car next to blonde, let the window down.  
“Jump in!”   
“Hello to you too.” Sofia grinned and got into the car.  
“Hi.” Sara smiled.  
“Where do you take me?”  
“Don’t you trust me, Sofia?”  
“Alright.” The blonde laughed. Just what she had asked Sara in the desert, after she picked her up and took her to the Fort without telling her.   
“Some place we can eat. I was sure, you don’t want to eat the stuff we’ve in the vending machines.”  
“Do they have better stuff now?”  
“Still the same.”  
“Okay, in that case, a bad restaurant is better than the vending machine.”  
“Yes.” Sara turned onto The Strip. “Where is Josh?”  
“Home.”  
“You left your son alone?”  
“No, I left him with Steo.”  
“Next time bring him with you, poor boy will feel left out.”  
“The poor boy will get spoiled all the time, he’ll eat too much chocolate, will stay up too long, will make a mess through the whole apartment and watch TV until he falls asleep on the couch.”  
“A trustful babysitter you have.”  
“The best you can ask for. Unfortunately he makes everything for my son and that means, he doesn’t do what I want him to do.”  
“He sounds like fun while sound like a mother.”  
“I am a mother. And when you say, I sound like my mother, I’ll strangle you right here in front of Circus Circus.”  
“A block away from our destination? That would be a pity.”  
“Where will we eat? In the Stratosphere?”  
“Kind of.” Sara smiled. She parked her car in front of the Stratosphere casino and left the car keys with the valet parking man.   
“After you.” She opened the door for Sofia.  
“Are you alright?” Sofia eyed Sara suspicious.   
“Yes. Why? Do I look pale? You know, I don’t get much sunshine at nights.”  
“You’re too nice. First you invite me to dinner, then you take me to a casino, what’s next?”  
“You saved my life, Sofia. I try to thank you for that.”  
“You said thank you already. No need for more. Anybody had done the same.”  
“Maybe most people had picked me up, but they hadn’t taken me home and get me back to my car the next day.”  
“Okay, so buy me a beer.”  
“I’ll do that – one day when you don’t have to drive. We need to go there.” Sara guided them up to the second level and straight to an elevator.   
“Isn’t that…?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you live a high life, I thought, we need to have dinner at a top place and that’s the highest restaurant we have in Vegas. It seemed me the best place for you.”  
“Just because I work for Bubbles, it doesn’t mean, I’m a VIP or something like that. I still eat at little diners, Sara.”  
“Not tonight.”  
Sara got them through to the elevator. “Forty seconds that feel like you’re flying.”  
“Yes.” Sofia got in and sighed. Okay, she was caught in this, she had to live with it.   
“It’s a shame we’re not here later to see the sunset.” Sara said when they left the elevator. “I heard it’s really nice to see how the light change over the valley and you end up watching the million lights of the city.”  
“It is.”   
“You saw it?”  
“Yes.”  
“So you know the restaurant.”  
“Yes.”  
“And you know the elevator ride.”  
“Yes.”  
“And nevertheless you’re pale and uncomfortable in the elevator. Is the head of security scared of closed rooms?”  
“The head of security doesn’t like when she feels like an astronaut. If I want to get up high, I book a flight.”  
“You’re scared.” Sara grinned mean.   
“Shut up.”  
“The detective is a pansy.”  
“So long there are only people who jumped off the tower, don’t be the first one, who got pushed down, Sara.”  
“You don’t save my life only to end it a few days later, Sofia.”   
“Don’t bet on that.” Sofia grumbled quietly because the waiter came up to them.   
“We’ve a reservation, Sidle.”  
“Very well. Good evening, Miss Sidle. Good evening Miss Curtis.”  
“Hello Henry.”  
Sara raised her eyebrows. The waiter knew Sofia and she knew him.   
“You’re a frequent guest or a very good tipper.” Sara grinned when they sat at the table.   
“I come here with a very good tipper.”  
“Bubbles.”  
“Yes.”  
“He takes you out for dinner? Are you sure, you’re his head of security?”  
“Very sure.”  
“Okay. Sounds slightly different.”  
“His first intention was something else. When we met the first time, in a casino over three years ago, he tried to get me in his bed. I was fourth month pregnant but aside that fact, I’m not interested in being somebody’s toy. I told him in not nice way to leave me alone or I’d arrest him and make sure, his bloody won’t get him out until the next morning. He liked that and asked, if I want to work for him. Apparently most women don’t deny his wishes and the way I did, made him wonder, if I was any help for his team.   
He had finished the Fort, needed somebody to make sure, his new home and all the expensive things he wanted to put in there, were safe. And he didn’t want a man, who could be lured by a beautiful woman and let anybody in. I told him, I’ll think about his offer, what I did. For a week. Then I called him, told him, if he ever tried to get into my pants, I’d castrate him and took his offer.”  
“What a lovely way to start a job.” Sara laughed.  
“Yes.”  
“Did he ever try to hit on you?”  
“No, never. I can say, we’ve a great relationship, build on trust and respect. I know, if there’s a problem, I can talk to him and he knows, I do everything I can to make sure, his property is safe.”  
“Sounds good.”  
“Better than the relationship you used to have with Ecklie.”  
“That’s not very difficult.”  
“If you want, I can ask him if he needs a CSI.”  
“Why would he need a CSI? Does he steal all his paintings and needs somebody, who tells him how to leave no traces?”  
“I could tell him that, I was a CSI.”  
“I’m better.”  
“I was acting supervisor.”  
“Yes, acting, like pretending. And you were that because Ecklie needed a pet to do, what he wanted.”  
“You can be glad that I know, you don’t mean that, Sara.” Sofia’s voice became serious.   
“Sorry.” Sara felt, she had overdone it. “I really didn’t mean it that way. You were a good CSI, but I liked you as a detective more.”  
“Because I wasn’t in your way anymore?”  
“Because you were one of the few detectives, who didn’t destroy the crime scene, didn’t leave more traces than the perpetrator. When I came to a scene and saw you, I knew, I didn’t have to worry about boot prints or used coffee cups.”  
“Give me a few more sentences like that and I might not regret anymore that I can’t threw you our of the window.”  
“You wouldn’t do that, even if the window was wide open.” Sara left her hand on Sofias for a second. “I’m really sorry, that was a stupid thing to say.”  
“It’s what you think.”  
“Thought. Maybe. At the beginning.”  
“I’ll believe you for now.” Sofia smiled.   
“Thanks.”   
The waiter brought them their drinks and they ordered their food.   
“Do you have some time after dinner or do you have to go back immediately?” Sara asked.   
“I’ve no curfew.”  
“Good. There are some people, who’d like to see you. Especially one young man.”  
“One with crazy hair?”  
“Yes.”  
“How is Greggo?”  
“He’s fine, he’s a real great CSI.”  
“And fun to be with.”  
“Yes.”  
“I’ll join you, my car is at the car park of the lab anyway. My son will be in bed anyway; at least I want to believe that!”  
“After he finished the glass of chocolate spread with a spoon. I’m sure he’ll fall asleep with a huge smile on his brown face.”  
“If I find an empty glass of chocolate spread, they’ll both be in trouble.”  
“Firm.”  
“Yes. My hope is, that they’ll sleep in the barn.”  
“Why not in a bed?”  
“Because some of the mares are due and Steo likes to make sure, they’re alright. And Josh wants to see the birth of a foal. I’m not sure if that’s the best thing for a boy his age, but he could ask for worse things.”  
“I think it’s an interesting and fascinating thing to watch, how a new life comes to this world. Okay, there’ll be some blood, that might not be the best thing for a boy his age…how old is he by the way?”  
“Almost three.”  
“I’m sure if you or Stephen explain him everything, it will be okay.”  
“Yes…did you ever watch the birth of a foal?”  
“No.”  
“Any other animal? A baby?”  
“No.”  
“Do you want to see it?” Sofia had the feeling Sara was interested in this topic.   
“Yes, one day.”  
“When do you have the next two nights off?”  
“I haven’t asked, why?”  
“Like I said, some mares are due, you can come and watch. Maybe you’re lucky and see the birth of a foal.”  
“Don’t you have a vet there?”  
“Yes.”  
“He won’t be happy when you bring visitors along.”  
“You need to wear clean clothes, can’t touch the mare or the foal and be quiet and stay a few yards away, out of sight of the mare.”  
“I’ll let you know.”  
“Don’t try to get you out of this Sara. It’s an offer, take it. Believe me, it’s great to sit in a barn the whole night, have a picnic and finish the night with the birth if a future racing star.”  
“So much pressure for the poor foal.”  
“Yes. We won’t tell them until they’re old enough.”  
“Like one year when they have their first race?”  
“I don’t like that neither, it’s too early. But I’m no position to tell Bubbles not to tell his horses run at this young age. I wish all races of horses under the age of three or four were forbidden, but unfortunately people don’t think of the well-being of animals when they can make money with them. That has been like this all the time and it will be like this. Do I try to make sure, the horses have a nice life before they’re taken away.”  
“You only have the mares in foal in the Fort?”  
“Yes. The ones, that are too old for races and be kept for breeding.”  
“How many horses do you have?”  
“A dozen. The rest is on a ranch in Montana.”  
“Sounds like more fun for the horses. At least they have real grass there.”  
“Yes. So, when will I see you in the barn, Sara? Last chance.” Sofia grinned.   
“I’ll ask for a night off. Or two. Can I call you or do I have to get to your through your own operator?”  
“Are you asking for my number, Sara?”  
“Yes because I need it to tell you when I have my nights off. Don’t be so smug, Sofia.”  
“Just asking.” Sofia wrote her cell phone number on a napkin and handed it to Sara.   
“Mhm.” Sara had to grin. “You made a heart around your number.”  
“Sure. So you know it’s a special number and not just any number you collected. I was too lazy to draw your car stuck in sand.”  
“Bitch.”  
“It’s Miss Bitch for you.”  
“Smug bitch.”  
“Careful, Sara. I’m a VIP guest, when I ask the waiter to throw you out, he’ll do that.”  
“And you’ll sit here alone, that would be boring.”  
“A beautiful woman like me won’t be alone for a long time, don’t you think?”  
“What I think is, that you’re really smug.” But Sara had to admit, that Sofia was right. She was a beautiful woman, she looked even better than three years ago. The Sofia in front of her was settled, she was happy and satisfied with her life, she had everything she wanted and she showed it. 

“Wow, who’s that beautiful woman?” Greg jumped of his chair and hugged Sofia. “You look gorgeous, Sofia.”  
“Thanks Greg. You don’t look too bad either. Nice hair.” She got with her hand through his short hair and messed it up.  
“The detective, who didn’t want to help me in a container of sand, but wanted to lift some prints with me.” Nick grinned and took Sofia in his arms. “What brings you here? Are you back with the LVPD?”  
“No. I’m only a visitor. Sara told me, I’ve to say hello to you guys. Apparently, you missed me.”  
“We did. Where did you go to?”  
“I’m still around.”  
“But not with the LVPD.”  
“No, I work in the private sector now.”  
“Real estate security? Isn’t that a step back? From detective to…something like a mall cop?”  
“I think I’m a level above mall cop.” Sofia laughed.  
“She’s the head of security of Bubbles.” Sara explained.   
“You sit with the rich and famous. What does your mother say about that?” Grissom asked.  
“Get the hell back to LVPD and he an honest cop. No wait, first she wonders, what she did wrong and then she orders me to get my old job back.”  
“A captain by heart.”  
“Yes.”  
“I bet your money is better than what your mother earns.” Cath guessed.   
“Yes.”  
“So we won’t get you back?”  
“No Nick.”  
“How is the Fort? Tell us about it. Is it as big as everybody says? And how does it look inside?”  
“Greg, I’m the head of security, do you think, I’ll tell you details about the Fort? No way.”  
“Oh, come on.”  
“No.”  
“What do I have to do to get a tour?”  
“You ask Bubbles, if he invites you, you’re welcome.”  
“Why was Sara allowed to be in there?”  
“Because she was stranded and needed a shelter.”  
“I could be stranded too.”  
“No, you want to stalk, Greg.”  
“I want to be informed.”  
“That’s the same in your case. Only with other words.”  
“So I need to get rich and be a friend of Bubbles to see his Fort? Alright. Grissom, am I not due for a pay raise?”  
“No, but for work.”  
“Damn.” Greg grinned. He had tried. 

“Tell me what has changed.” Greg poured some coffee in Sara’s cup. After their shift, they went together to a diner to have some breakfast.   
“What do you mean?” She had no idea what her friend was talking about. What did change? A lot of things changed all the time. Was he talking about something in particular or the world in general?  
“You and Sofia.”  
“Huh?”  
“You weren’t friends years ago, now she meets you for dinner.”  
“She saved my life twice. Don’t you think it’s a good reason for me to thank her?”  
“Yes. What’s her reason to agree on that?”  
“You say that like I’m a person nobody wants to spend some time with, thank you very much, Greg.”  
“I love to spend time with you, but I didn’t think Sofia would be one of these people too.”  
“Maybe after three years we were able to handle each other for one night.”  
“Actually two.”  
“Whatever.”  
“Will there be a third night?”  
“Why are you so interested in my relationship to Sofia?”  
“I didn’t know that you and Sofia have a relationship.” He grinned.   
“Like we both have.”  
“You’re that close to her?”  
“You go on like that and you won’t be close to me anymore. Fact is, after a rough start, Sofia and me got along alright. My life isn’t only work anymore, why not reactivate an old contact and spend some time with her?”  
“It doesn’t look like you, Sara.”  
“Maybe I want to surprise you.”  
“You do.”  
“Good. Leave it alone now, will you?”  
“Alright…one more question.”  
“What?” Sara sighed.   
“When you go there the next time, can you smuggle me in? Like I’ll be in your trunk and have a look around on myself. I want to see the Fort.”  
“Greg, beside that this sounds ridiculous, the security would catch you right away.”  
“You think?”  
“Hey, you know their head of security, do you think she isn’t good enough?”  
“Your point.” He grinned. He was curious, as a fan of the old Vegas stories, as being very interested in mob stories, a rich man, who built a fort in the desert and kept it closed for most people, was high on Greg’s list of things, he wanted to see. And if he couldn’t meet the owner of the fort, the last thing he could do was having a tour through the fort.   
“What did you see when you were in there?”  
“A kitchen.”  
“A kitchen?”  
“Yes.”  
“And?”  
“A dining room.”  
“Like any other room?”  
“No, there were some painting on the wall. Same for the lobby. Greg, I didn’t pay much attention to the house, I was in the kitchen to get something to eat, ate in a small dining room and went up to Sofia’s apartment. No pompous guest room, no golden sink, no butler, no maids.”  
“But a fort.”  
“Yes.”  
“Did you have some champagne?”  
“No.”  
“You stay at the place of a guy, who is famous for his champagne and don’t drink it?”  
“I didn’t meet him, I had spent a few hours in the desert, was probably dehydrated, I wasn’t in a status in that champagne was good for me.”  
“If you ever meet him, let him invite you to some champagne, even better, make him give you a bottle as a gift and share it with me. Unfortunately, these bottles are so expensive I can’t afford them.”  
“And I’m not interested in them.”  
“Do it for your best friend.”  
“You mean, do it for the one, who annoys you so much and maybe he’ll finally shut up if you tell him, you’ll try?”  
“Yes.” Greg grinned widely.   
“Thought so.” Sara buried her face in her hands. Maybe the idea to have breakfast with Greg wasn’t a good idea at all. Her friend was a little bit annoying today. Only a little bit..

Part 3

“Hi, I’m Sara…Sidle…I’m here to see Sofia…Curtis.” Sara stuttered when a man stopped her in front of the Fort.   
The face of the man stayed stoic when he talked into a little microphone to somebody and announced that she was here. She couldn’t hear what answer he got, but his eyes got back to her when he talked.   
“Would you please step out of the car?”  
“What?”  
“Would you please…”  
“I understood you. Why?”  
“Because I need to search the car. Open the trunk, please.”  
So much for Greg’s idea, she could smuggle him into the Fort in her trunk. It seemed like it didn’t matter that she had been here a week before, that Sofia wanted to see her, all that counted was, she had a car, somebody could be in the trunk, they had to make, she didn’t bring somebody in the Fort, didn’t have a large bomb under the backseat and whatever else. Sofia should have told her.   
Sara left her car and watched how he checked her backseat, popped the trunk open and look inside.  
“What’s in that suitcase? I need to see it open, please.”  
“It’s my kit, I’m a CSI.”  
“I need to see what’s inside.”  
“You must be kidding me.”  
“No, he doesn’t.”   
Sara turned and saw Sofia, who was – all in black – behind her.   
“It’s his job. If he lets you get in without checking on your car, without making sure you don’t have a bomb in the suitcase, he’ll lose his job.”  
“I could have a bomb under the car.”  
“The dog would find it. The suitcase, you can take inside the house, that’s why he has to check. He needs to check everything, that can get into the house. Security.”  
“It’s my damn field kit. Why would I bring a bomb in here?”  
“You don’t.” Sofia put her hand on Sara’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Mack, she’s a friend and I’m very sure, she doesn’t try to get anything inside, that might be a threat. If she does, I’ll make her pay.” The blonde grinned. “Give me the keys.”  
“Why?”  
“Because that way you’ll get inside much faster.”  
Sara had to admit, Sofia had a point. When the blonde took them here, nobody stopped them, nobody wanted to check anything or asked, who she was.   
Without any other stops, Sofia got them in the Fort, drove Sara’s car to a shed. The gate opened automatically and she parked the car inside.   
“I’m glad you came.”  
“So why didn’t you call your watchdogs to back off and let me in?”  
“Because it’s their job to check and I like to make sure my people do, what I expect them to do. If anybody comes along and tells them, he or she is a friend of mine, they need to check the name with me and check the car. Everybody can tell them, she’s my sister or my brother and get something inside. I take my job serious, Sara.”  
“That means, if I consider to visit you anytime again, I’ll have to get through the same shit again?”  
“Yes.”  
“Great. This is my last visit!”  
“No it isn’t.” Sofia smirked and got Sara’s bag out of the trunk. “Come on, I’ll bring you upstairs.”  
“Do I get a flashy room or will I stay in your guest room?”  
“A flashy room? Who told you there are flashy rooms?”  
“Greg has this fantasy about the Fort and he didn’t stop sharing it with me. One fantasy was that the rooms are flashy and special like in a palace or something like that. I can’t remember the words he used.”  
“I’m sorry, you’ll end up in the same boring room like before. You’re not Bubbles’ guest, you’re my guest. That makes you stay in my guest room – or the barn.”  
“Sparkling champagne?”  
“No, I’m on duty.”  
“A bottle for later?”  
“Since when are you into champagne?”  
“I thought it suits the place we are. This place is owned by a man, who made a fortune selling champagne and sparkling wine – both very expensive – and we had a beer last time.”  
“Greg wants a bottle of champagne.” Was Sofia’s dry conclusion and she opened the front door for Sara.   
“Yes.”  
“Tell Mister Mob Las Vegas, if he wants a bottle of Bubbles’ champagne, he can buy them in any good shop.”  
“You do remember what you earn as a CSI, don’t you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good.”  
“How important is this bottle to him?”  
“As important as a toy is for a puppy.” Sara chuckled.   
“Thought so. Was he very annoying?”  
“I hate to say this but: yes.”  
“Is he still your friend?”  
“Of course.”  
“Good.” Sofia opened the door to her apartment. At the same moment her beeper went off. “Make yourself at home, I’ll be back in a second.”  
“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself, boss.”  
“Misses Boss.” Sofia blinked at her and left.   
Sara opened the door to the guest room. The last time she had red sheets, today they were light green and reminded her of spring. The white towels on top were folded like a flower today. It seems like Stephen had made her bed. Again. Sara wondered in what kind of relationship he stood to Sofia.   
The wardrobe was empty, a bottle of water was on her nightstand and pair of socks with a little note. Give your socks a break, use these ones. You can’t slip with them. She took a closer look at the socks and saw little rubber stars under the feet. That was cute. This way she could walk barefoot.   
“Sara.”  
Sara turned and found Josh at the door.  
“Hey Josh.” She smiled and got down on her knees. “How are you?”  
“Good.”  
“I’m glad you recognize me. Are you all alone?”  
“No. Steo.”  
“Yes, I’m here.” Stephen appeared in the door frame. “Hello Sara.”  
“Hi Stephen. Thanks for the fluffy flower.”  
“You’re welcome. Josh wanted to paint it red, I could change his mind.”  
“It’s a snow flower, Josh, they are white.” Sara smiled.  
“Rose.”  
“There are also white roses. Have you never seen one?”  
“No.”  
“I’ll bring you one the next time.” So much for her statement, this was the last time she visited Sofia. She had just planed another trip to the blonde and her son.  
“When I was young, the man brought the woman flowers and not the other way around.”  
“Things have changed.”  
“Looks like. Lucky Josh, he’s young, he can take advantages of theses changes. And with this smile and those blue eyes woman will be more than happy to do him every favor he’ll ask for.” Stephen messed up Josh’s hair with one hand.   
“Sara, play?”  
“She’s here to see your mother, Josh and not to be your babysitter.”  
“That’s alright. What do you want to play, Josh?”  
“Hide and seek.”  
“I’m a CSI, it’s my job to find things.”  
“Find me?”  
“Okay. I’ll close my eyes and count to twenty.” Sara put her hands in front if her eyes and started to count loud the numbers from one to twenty. When she was done, Stephen was still where he was before, a big smile on his face and Josh was gone.  
“Okay, let’s not find evidence, but a little boy.”  
“It took him less than a minute to make you do what he wants.”  
“Yes, I know. He’s so cute, how could I deny a wish?”  
“You can’t. Good luck finding him.”  
“There are four rooms, I should have a chance.”  
“Oh, didn’t he explain the rules to you? You can hide in the whole house.”  
“What?”  
“Yes.”  
“I can’t just walk around and look in the rooms for him. I don’t live here, I’m a guest.”  
“I can assure you, rooms you or anybody else, isn’t supposed to look in, are locked and can be only opened with a special keycard. Bubbles has one of these cars, so does Sofia. Everybody else has only restricted access to certain rooms. Little Joshi has no card, you’ll find him in a room, that isn’t locked. Good luck, CSI Sidle.”  
“Thanks.” Sara made the decision to check first in Sofia’s apartment. She looked behind the couch, under the table, checked in wardrobes and cupboards, in the shower, before she left the apartment. There she was, about to discover the Fort of Bubbles. Greg would give a lot of things if he could be in her shoes.   
The first two rooms next to the apartment were locked, the third one was open. A lumber room with cleaning utensil. The next room was guest room. She checked under the bed, in the wardrobe, in the attached bathroom. Nothing. No Josh and no flashy things like expensive paintings, bottles of champagne or truffles on the pillow. Not even chocolate.   
She had left the room when she met Sofia in the hallway. Next to blonde was a black dog, a Rottweiler.   
“Jezz, do you want to make a point with this beast?”  
“Huh?” Sofia turned, didn’t see anything and looked at the dog. “Oh, you mean Digger. He isn’t a beast, he’s my best man. Did you lose your way?”  
“No, I was stupid enough to agree to play with your son.”  
“Hide and seek.”  
“Yes.” It seemed like this was Josh’s favorite game.   
“And you didn’t narrow it down to our apartment?”  
“I didn’t think he could mean, we play in the entire house.”  
“Big mistake. He doesn’t play fair. Means, he moves around. You think, you checked a room, you turn to look into the next one and he sneaks into the room you just checked.”  
“I’ll be busy for the rest of the day.”  
“Yes, you would. Lucky you, the good CSI has always a detective by her side and a good detective knows always a way to find the suspect. It’s not your job to chase the suspect anyway.”  
“I don’t chase the suspect, I chase the evidence.” Sara said very sweet and her grin was almost too wide to fit in her face.  
Sofia’s eyes sparkled for a second, she knew what Sara was talking about. “In that case, let’s have a detective joining.”  
“You’re not a detective anymore.”  
“Head of security, even better.”  
“What makes you think I can’t find Josh by myself?”  
“Oh will, it will take a while, but you will. All I want to do is end this game before our barbecue gets cold.”  
“Barbecue? I thought you’re working.”  
“I am. And I do have breaks every now and then. Digger? Find Josh!”  
The Rottweiler didn’t hesitate and started to run up to the third level. A way Sara hadn’t tried next. It had been her intention to go downstairs. The nose on the ground for a second, Digger turned left and ran straight to the third door on the right. When Sofia opened the door, the Rottweiler stopped in front of the wardrobe and barked once.  
“Digger, no!”   
“Yes, he found you, Josh.” Sofia opened the door. Josh sat on the floor and looked angry at the dog.   
“Not fair.”  
“Like it’s not fair that you didn’t tell Sara, you want to play in the whole house. She’s new, she hasn’t seen the house yet. If you want to play with her, you have to stay in our apartment. Okay?” The room looked like the room had been in before. Apparently Greg’s fantasy about the Ford was totally wrong. So far Sara hadn’t seen anything very extraordinary.   
“’Kay.”  
“I’m sorry Josh, but the thing is, when you’re a CSI, you’re not allowed to look for people, only for things. I have to call the police to find people and your mother was the best detective, I’ve ever worked with.”   
Sofia looked in disbelieve at Sara, trying to find out, if the brunette was laughing or obviously making this up. But Sara’s face was serious, there was a smile on her face, but it didn’t look like, she was teasing Sofia. It was more like she was remembering old times.   
“Not that difficult to be a good detective when you have a smart CSI, who gives you the right clues.”  
“Like the suspect is somewhere in the house?”  
“Yes.” Sofia took Josh on her arm. “Come on, little suspect, barbecue waits for you. You and Sara, you can make our dinner.”  
“Mommy?”  
“Mommy has to work a little bit more.”  
“Steo?”  
“I’m sure Steo will come along sooner or later. My money is on sooner.”  
“As the head of security, you shouldn’t gamble.” Sara teased.   
“Only when I know I’ll win.”

The little fire wasn’t burning anymore, only a little gloom of sparks was between black ash. Sara and Josh sat around the ash, watched it and had their attention especially on the potatoes, they had thrown into the hot ash. Apparently it took at least an hour until they could get them out and eat. Almost the same time their bread needed, that was buried in the hot ash. Stephen had showed them this way of ‘cooking’ or ‘baking’ things.   
“You guys look like you live in a western romance movie.” Sofia joined them, pulled Josh in her arms and smiled at Sara and Stephen.   
“We enjoy life. Are you ready to do the same or do you have to work longer?”  
“I’m always on the clock when I’m here, Sara. But I can sit here with you guys and have a beer.”  
“Beer’s empty.” Stephen said.  
“Why?”  
“Because we finished our bottle and nobody wants to get up and get new ones.”  
“Are you kidding me?” Sofia looked at Sara and Stephen. Both shook their heads. No, they weren’t kidding, they were serious.  
“It’s like a minute to the fridge and back. Bach is that a problem for you?”  
“Because it means we’ve to get up, we need to leave this place, have to walk into the house, in my case look for the kitchen, get the beer, try not to get lost, come back. Too much effort for a bottle of beer. It’s nicer here.”  
“If I go and get beer, you both won’t get anything. I can’t support this laziness.”  
“Beer is overrated anyway.” Stephen sighed. “Bring us a bottle of champagne.”  
“Move your backside and get it yourself.”  
“Maybe later.”  
“So, you want to sit here, stare at the fire and that’s it?”  
“It’s not a fire anymore.”  
“Steo, you got my point.”  
“I did. We watch our midnight snack. I prepared a nice place for the three of you in the barn, I think, Shinning Star might give birth today to her foal.”  
“See!” Josh pleaded.   
“Yes Josh, you, Sara and me will be there and have a look. But you have to be very, very quiet when you’re in the barn. We can’t make any noise, it would disturb Shinning Star. Can you do that? Be very, very quiet?”  
The little boy nodded.   
“Good. Sara, can you do the same?”  
“The question is, can you stay quiet, Sofia?”  
“I don’t do this for the first time.”  
Sara smirked.   
“What?”  
“Nothing.”  
“What?”  
“I bet you’ll the first one, who’s too loud.”  
“I’m on that one. You’ll lose and the next dinner is on you and that time I’ll choose.”  
“Okay. In case you’ll lose, dinner is on you, it will include Josh and I’ll choose the place.”  
“Deal. Kiss your next paycheck goodbye, I’ll win.”  
“We’ll see what will happen.” Sara had a very good idea where would order her dinner and she was sure, Sofia wouldn’t be happy with that place. Which made winning the bet even more important. 

Shinning Star war an albino, white as snow with dark brown eyes. For Sara, there were no signs that this mare about to foal, but she had no ideas of horses and believed Stephen. The horse had a big stall with a lot of straw. There was a bucket with water and some red lights over the stall, that made it warmer.   
Stephen had made them a quite cozy place in the barn for Sofia, Sara and Josh. Only a few yards away from the stall Shinning Star was in, but out of her sight because of a wooden wall, they had half a dozen blankets, some pillows, a torch and a phone. The number of the vet was written on it.   
“How can we see the foal?” Josh whispered.   
“You can sit on the straw ball.” Sofia lifted her son on a straw ball, that was around one yard high. From he had a clear view to the mare.   
“Don’t the other mares know when one is about to give birth?” Sara asked.  
“Yes, they’ll notice before we do, that’s why we’ll have an eye on them too. Do you want to give me a hand? We can feed them.”  
“That’s your job too?”  
“Only when I volunteer for it. I thought when we’re here anyway, we can do it.”  
“Alright.”   
“Josh, you stay and make sure, Shinning Star is alright, okay? You’re on a very important watch duty, boy.”  
Josh nodded seriously and kept his eyes on the albino.   
Sara followed Sofia to a room, that was filled with all kinds of horse provender.   
“Okay, you can give each horse an armful of hay. There are little nets in the stall, put in there, but shake it please once or twice before you enter the box. This way you get some of the dust out.”  
“I can enter the stalls?”  
“All horses are friendly, especially when you bring them some food. Only if you see a horse trying to keep a distance between you and it, being obviously nervous, it might be better to stay out. I won’t be far away, I’ll get the concentrate. They don’t live on hay alone.”  
“Do I have to start with a certain horse?”  
“No, you can just start with the first one and work your way through. Lie a crime scene.” Sofia blinked at her.   
Sara took an armful of hay, went back to the horses, shook the hay and sneezed. Well, there was less dust in the hay now after it was all up her nose. Carefully she watched the brown horse in the stall, that did the same with her. Arabella. Sara wondered what Arabella thought. Was she annoyed that a stranger was in front of her stall? Probably not, these were racing horses, they were used to that stranger were around them.   
Slowly Sara opened the door a little bit, squeezed herself inside the stall, eyes still on the horse, that didn’t move. The net was only a few steps away. Remembering that fast moves weren’t good, she tried to be as calm as possible and walked to the net, opened it and got the hay inside. As soon as she was done, she moved out of the stall, didn’t turn and went back to get some more hay.   
Sofia had prepared half a dozen buckets with concentrate and started to carry the first ones out to the horses. Sara followed her with new hay. Her next horse was Members Only, a black and white horse, that looked way to beautiful to have such a stupid name. The horse seemed not to care that Sara entered the stall, it stood there, eyes half closed, like it was asleep. Sara opened the net, got the hay inside, turned and froze. There were two big black eyes in front of her face. And a big brown head. Only an inch away from her nose, if she wanted, she could touch the horse without moving.   
“Wham, uhm..” She stepped a step back, tripped over something and ended on her rear backside. Before she could look what had gotten into her way, she knew it because her pants were wet. She tripped over the bucket of water, knocked it over and had a little bath right now.   
Alarmed by the noise, Sofia’s head appeared. For a second, there was concern in the blonde’s face, then it vanished and a huge grin appeared.   
“I asked you to give them some hay and not be there amusement. This isn’t Vegas, the horses can eat without a clown show.”  
“Shut up.”  
Sofia entered the stall, pushed Members Only, who was still standing in front of Sara, a little bit confused probably, that she sat on the ground.   
“Give us some space, Honey, will you?” Sofia offered her hand to Sara and pulled her back on her feet.   
“Thanks.”  
“Don’t worry, that happens to everybody sooner or later. Go and get changed, I’ll go on.”  
“Thanks.”  
“And Sara?”  
“Yes?”  
“Try not to fall into Digger’s bowl, will you? He doesn’t like it when people mess with his water or food.”  
“I hope he won’t be around.”  
“He will. Take him with you when you come back, he doesn’t like to be alone.”  
“Why can’t you just call him?”  
“I’d lose my bet if I did.” Sofia grinned, took the empty bucket and left the stall.   
Sara sighed. She had made a fool out of herself. Again. Tripped over a bucket of water and ending up all wet. Great. At least she knew now why she had taken all these clothes with her. If she fell in every second stall, she needed a lot of jeans. More than she owned. 

“After we fed the horses, we can fed ourselves.” Sofia put a small bucket with steaming potatoes in their stall. In her other hand was something rolled into a tea towel, round with a very good smell. Their bread.   
“Smells great.” Sara said.  
“Yes, it does. I even have something to drink, coffee and for the man hot chocolate.”  
“Interesting combination, coffee and potatoes.”  
“No alcohol in the barn. Josh, do want a potato?”  
Josh only nodded, his eyes still on Shinning Star. Sofia took a potato, a napkin and handed it to her son, who refused to leave his straw ball. When she wanted to turn and sit again on her little straw ball, something pinched her in her sides and she squeaked. Sara had both hands on Sofia’s hips, tickled her and the blonde could only squeak until Sara let go after a few seconds so the horses won’t be alert.   
“You lost.” She grinned.   
“That wasn’t fair!” Sofia’s eyes became very narrow and seemed to be filled with fire.   
“We never said, we’ll play fair. All we said was, that the one, who is first to make some noise, has lost. You squeaked like a little piglet on it’s way to the butcher.”  
“That’s a grotesque example for a vegetarian.”  
“I used it only for you, a meat lover and loser.”  
“If I had known you don’t play fair…”  
“Always be prepared, detective. Bad boys don’t play fair neither.”  
“You know what this means?”  
“Yes. You lost, I won. You’ll pay.”  
“You’ll get payback for that.”  
“As long as you pay your debt as well.” Sara chuckled. She knew, she would win. That was why she had bet. It had been her plan to tickle Sofia as soon as there was the right moment for it. One of the things she remembered of the time, when she worked with Sofia was, that the blonde was ticklish. When the blonde had turned, it was Sara’s chance.   
“Mom, no noise.” Josh reprimanded his mother.   
“Sorry Honey, you’re right.” She sat down, eyes still narrow and on Sara, her lips forming some words, she better didn’t say as long as her son was around.   
“So, you little cheater, where do you want to have dinner? I hope it’s a place they sell blowfish.”  
“I don’t eat fish and you shouldn’t push your luck by eating blowfish neither. I’ll let you know soon enough.”  
“You’re a real disappointment, Sara.”  
“Because I won?”  
“Because you cheat. What will Josh think? You teach him to cheat.”  
“No, I taught him how to win a game, that had no rules. He’ll know now, if he wants to bet on something, he has to set the rules, the way he wants them. Otherwise he’ll be a loser like his mother.”  
“I’ll get your payback, Sara Sidle, believe. You’ll get a lot of payback for this. And I’ll enjoy it.”  
“Sounds interesting. Don’t forget to wait with that after you’ve paid your debt to me. First my dinner, than you can think of another bet you’ll lose.”  
“Don’t be that smug.”  
“It’s awful when somebody is too smug, isn’t it?”  
“Eat your da…delicious potatoes and bread, Sara.” Sofia took a potato herself and started to peel it without having another look at Sara. There would be payback for all these things and it would be at a time, Sara didn’t think of it anymore. Time was on Sofia’s side, the blonde was sure about that. 

It was after midnight, Josh was asleep in his sleeping bag, his head on Sofia’s lap. Until now there had been no sign that Shinning Star was in a hurry to give birth to her foal. The mare was in her stall, looked like she was sleeping and the whole barn was quiet and asleep.  
“Another nightshift.” Sara took another sip of coffee.  
“Yes, this way you don’t lose your rhythm.”  
“No. What’s about you? Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”  
“Yes.”  
“You can sleep and I’ll stay awake.”  
“I’ll sleep later, don’t worry. I don’t have to be on the clock at seven in the morning, as long as there’s nothing special, I can sleep a little bit longer. Bubbles will come back home, I’ll pick him up late in the afternoon and will work late then.”  
“Give him all the updates.”  
“He knows most of them anyway.”  
“So what do you prefer: be a detective or the head of security for a rich guy?”  
“What do you think are the differences?”  
“You first.” Sara smiled.   
“Okay.” Sofia leant back, stroke Josh’s hair softly. “I’ve more time for my son. I do work a lot, most times I’m on call the same hours or me than I was as a detective. The difference is, I can see my son while I work. There’s no problem to fix him some dinner, wake him up for breakfast or say goodbye when he leaves for kindergarten. In these three years there hasn’t been one incident that made me not keep a promise on him. When I was away for something like Breakfast, dinner or a day, we knew that before, he knew, he was never disappointed that his mom couldn’t make it. We both know, if there’ll be an emergence, I’ll break a promise of being there, but I know, had done this a few times if I would be still with the LVPD. When I work and he isn’t in kindergarten, there’s somebody around to take care of him. Steo does a wonderful job, Josh loves him and I don’t have to feel sorry when I’m away. At least not that much.  
I do miss the work with the LVPD sometimes. It felt good to put bad guys in jail, to bring a little bit of justice to people, to make the city a little bit safer, but I knew, if wanted to go on with this, I had to sacrifice a big piece of my relationship to Josh. And I had to put the life of his mother at risk every day. I don’t want him to grow up without a mother, this is safer, this is better for him. I can’t think what I want to do most, I’ve to consider what’s best for my son and me. And that’s this, this new life.   
I can understand when you don’t understand me, don’t agree, but I’m happy I made this decision, I’m thankful that I got this chance I can’t imagine another life anymore. The thought of that I can’t see my son the whole day or for two days because he’s asleep when I leave and when I come back. I want to spend with him. Something like this, what we do tonight, isn’t possible when I’m with the LVPD.”  
“I think the difference between your job as a detective and as a head of security is, that as a detective you take care of a lot of people, most times you’re too late to safe the first person, you need to try to safe others of one killer. Now you protect the life and the property of one person. You make sure, he and everything that’s important to him, is safe. You do prevention now and not follow-up care. You still your life at risk for somebody else, you still want to stop the bad guys, it’s still the same base.”  
“I’m glad you think so.” Sofia smiled.   
“Why? What I think of you doesn’t change a thing in your life.”  
“Don’t talk stupid, Sara. You are not stupid.”  
“Why do I talk stupid?”  
“You’re a smart woman, answer this question yourself.”  
Sara cocked her head. “You wouldn’t spend time with somebody, whose opinion is worthless to you.”  
“I told you you’re a smart woman. There’s the evidence I was right.”  
“Only a smart person wins a bet against you.”  
“Wrong subject, Sara.”  
“Sorry.”  
“Try anything else.”  
“Like what?”  
“You can choose. I know there are some questions, you want me to ask.”  
“The question is, do you want to talk about them?”  
“Try me. If I don’t want to talk about certain topics with you, I’ll tell you.”  
“Okay.” Sara’s attention got for a second to one of the horses. It laid down and for a few seconds, there was something else than their words to hear.   
“Is it okay when the horse lays down?”  
“They can do that for a short time. Usually they know when it’s time to get up again.”  
“Alright.”  
“It’s cute that you worry about them.”  
“We’re here to watch and make sure everything is alright, that includes all horses for me and not only one.”  
“I know. Ask me your question, Sara.”  
“When you’re so sure I’ve a question to you, how comes you don’t know this question?”  
“Because you’ve got a few and I can’t figure out, which one is the most important one.”  
“None of them are really my business.”  
“Sara, don’t try to get yourself out of this, I told you, it’s okay. People do ask other people private questions occasionally.”  
“Some do that all the time.”  
“You’re not some people, you’re Sara. And now talk or I’ll shoot you.”  
Sara laughed quietly. Sofia wasn’t very patient. “Okay. Obviously you didn’t tell anybody that you were pregnant three years ago, I never saw you with somebody and you never mentioned a boyfriend, I wonder about…”  
“Sorry, that’s a topic I won’t talk about.” Sofia stopped Sara before she could come ask her question. “Not because I don’t want you to know but we’re not alone and some things I don’t want him to know. Yet.”  
“Alright. Sorry.”  
“No need to be sorry, I told you ask. Anything else, that isn’t about this topic?”  
“Do you get champagne for free and are there any pompous rooms in the Fort?”  
Sofia chuckled. “These are not your questions, these are Greg’s questions.”  
“He’s my friend, I thought I ask them for him.”  
“I can drink as much of Bubbles’ champagne as I want, all for free. I know most people would love that, my problem is, I’m a beer person, I don’t really like champagne or sparkling wine.”  
“And you don’t get fired to say that loud?”  
“No, he appreciates honesty. And I don’t know if the rooms are pompous, you’ll get some more pompous on the Strip, but he has some really nice rooms here, yes. If you want, I can show you them. After those were Greg’s questions and you don’t really care about things like that, I assume, you don’t want to see them.”  
“I can survive without that, yes.”  
“Anything else?”  
“Will you turn tables on me and start to ask me a lot of questions?”  
“Scared?”  
“Just asking.”  
“Every question I ask you, Sara, no matter which topic, you are free not to answer without that I’ll be offended.”  
“That means, you’ll ask me questions. Wanna ask me one now?”  
“Alright. And you won’t be mad if I ask the wrong question?”  
“I might not answer it.”  
“As I told you, that’s fine.”  
“Shoot, detective.”  
“What happened to you and Grissom?”  
Sara knew this question would come sooner or later. Of course Sofia had heard of her and Grissom just before she had left LVPD and after almost three years working the same shift, she wanted to know what had happened to them. A lot of people did, most didn’t dare to ask and Sara was more than happy about that. She didn’t want to talk about her private life with anybody of the lab. Not even with her colleagues, only Greg, but he was special. The question was, did she want Sofia to know? Was the blonde special enough?   
“Remember, you don’t have to tell if you don’t want.” Sofia reminded her softly.   
“No, it’s alright. I try to find the right words. After the night under the car, I was horrified. The physical injuries were nothing compared to the mental injuries. I was so sick and tired of all the violence in my life, violence I had to live with every day. I couldn’t go on, for years I had pushed myself to go on because that was the only way to decrease the criminal rate. When I found out that no matter what I did, the criminal rate increased year by year, I got…I don’t want to call it frustrated, or maybe it was a mix of frustration, desperation and helplessness.   
Then we got a case with Hannah, you remember the young girl, whose brother was on trial for the murder of a class mate and during the trial, she told everybody, it was her, who killed the girl. They both got away, she told me at the end of trial, he killed that girl, but I had no evidence. We got his brother for the murder of a student, all evidence pointed towards him. This time he was innocent, she killed the young woman. She was afraid she’d lose her brother to another woman. They had lost their parents a year before, all she had left was her brother, nobody else wanted to have anything to do with her. He hung himself in a cell after a few days, left her with nothing and we had no way to prove what she did.   
I think, that was the moment I realized, I can’t go on like that. I wrote a letter to Grissom and left Las Vegas. I needed some time away, I needed to see anything else than death and people, who had nothing else in mind than torture other people. I don’t want to blame Grissom for that, it was mainly my fault, my problem that I couldn’t handle it anymore. I have…I have a long history of violence and that point, I needed to go out. I know, I couldn’t ask Grissom to come with me, he lives for his job. So I left, went to south America, spent a few months in the jungle and came back to Vegas.   
I told him in a letter, he should move on, that I had no idea if and when I come back. He did what I asked him to. He was the reason why I came to Vegas, he was the reason why I tried so long to be strong, but he couldn’t give me what I needed to survive the life of a CSI in Vegas. I know he loved me, as much as he can love somebody, but I needed more. I needed to be the most important person and thing for somebody, I needed somebody, who cares, who can give me a certain kind of emotional strength. And that wasn’t Grissom. We’re friends, we enjoy working together, but we aren’t lovers anymore.”  
That was a very long and very detailed explanation of what had happened to Sara. Probably the most detailed one she had ever given to somebody in one piece. Her therapist had needed months to make her say out loud all of these words. Maybe it was easier to say them after you said them out once.   
“Did he ask you to come back?”  
“No. I wanted to come back. I spent almost two years away, I was refreshed, I was in a good balance and made the decision, if they need a CSI, I’d be happy to come back. That’s how I got back a little bit over a year ago.”  
“That means, you left a little bit later than I?”  
“Yes.”  
“An interesting coincidence, that we both needed to leave our jobs at almost the same time; for different reasons, but still interesting. Are you happy to be back?”  
“Yes. It’s what I always wanted to do, it’s what I love and after I sorted some things out, I can work again in a way, that I don’t let cases get me.”  
“That’s good. Your turn to ask a question, Sara.”  
“What will we do when Shinning Stars makes the decision to give birth to her foal now?”  
“We’ll call Steo, he’s a vet. If everything is alright, we’ll stay here, watch. Steo will make sure she won’t be too close to a wall, so the foal has enough space and after the birth, he’ll clean her and back off to give them some time alone.”  
“And if anything goes wrong?”  
“We’ll call the vet, help Steo as good as we can and try to safe their lives. The vet has checked on her daily, everything is alright, there is no reason to worry. It isn’t her first foal, she knows what to do.”  
“Why is there another vet when Stephen is a vet too?”  
“Because he’s a retired vet, works only for Bubbles while the other vet is working in a clinic and knows all the new stuff. It’s always better to have two experienced people around than only one.”  
“Especially when the mare and the foal are worth a little fortune.”  
“I don’t measure the worth of a life by money, do you?” Sofia cocked her head.  
“No.”  
“I didn’t think so. Yes, they are worth a few dollars, but most important, they are alive, they want to live and they are all great characters – that’s more than I can say about some talented humans.”  
“I couldn’t agree more.” Sara smiled. She always preferred animals over humans. 

Shinning Star took her time and waited for another night with the birth of her foal. It was around three a.m. when Sara woke Sofia up, who had fallen asleep after midnight. Josh, who camped with them in the barn again, was easier to wake up than his mother. They called Stephen and watched from their place. A few times Shinning Star rose and laid back down, once she got forced to get up again by Stephen because she was too close to the wall.   
Two hours later a little brown foal was laying in the straw, trying to get up after half an hour and made it’s first step to get some milk.   
“We’ve got a little mare.” Stephen said when he joined the two women and Josh.   
“She’s beautiful.” Sofia said.   
“Yes, she is. Josh, why don’t you come with me back into the house?”  
“I want to stay here.”  
“I can understand that. But the foal needs to sleep and so do you. I could use your help when I have to check the foal in the morning. For that you need to be very good rested to see if there are any problems.”  
“Okay.” He looked at his mother.   
“We’ll come inside later too, don’t worry. Sleep tight, Honey.”  
“Night mom, night Sara.”  
“Good night Josh, have sweet dreams.” Sara was still touched by the experience of the birth. It had been the most wonderful thing, she had ever watched. For the first time, she didn’t see how a life got taken away, didn’t have to walk over a dead body, over traces of violence and destruction. She had watched the opposite. A life came to this world, young, small, fragile and only after a few minutes, it was able to get up, make it’s first step and drink for the first time. So many things, that made sure, it would survive, so many things, that showed her, there were other things than death in Vegas, there was life too.  
“Thanks Sofia.”  
“What for?”  
“Giving me the possibility to see something wonderful. It was amazing.”  
“The first birth of a foal is something special, yes. If you want, you can come along for some more. There are five more foals due.”  
“I’d like to, unfortunately I need to work tomorrow night.”  
“We’re waiting for two this week, if you’re lucky, you can watch another birth the next time you’ve a night off. Give me a call when you have time and I tell you if it’s likely that you see another birth. As you saw yesterday, I can’t promise you the birth will be in that night, but the chances are high.”  
“Yes. I’ll let you know. What is the name of the foal?”  
“I don’t know. It has to start with an “F”, that’s for sure. Do you know a nice name for a mare with an F?”  
“No, but don’t let her be something like Members Only. That’s a really silly name.”  
“It is. Bubbles gives the names, I’ll tell him not to embarrass the horse with the name.”  
“Good idea.” Sara laughed. She doubted that horses cared about the names people gave them, but that was no reason to insult a horse with an awful name. Members Only. She wondered if the person, who named that horse, had been drunk or under the influence of drugs. 

Part 4

Sara cursed, grabbed a towel, jumped out of her shower, almost slipped with her wet feet on the floor only to realize, she was about three seconds to slow to catch the call. At the same time she had entered her living room, the phone had stopped ringing. For a second she felt like being in a bad scene in a comedy movie. Like somebody had waited until she was in the room to disconnect and when she was back in the bathroom, the phone would rang again. That was not only annoying, that was also a kind of scary. The thought of somebody around, watching her.   
She took the phone and found a number listed as missed call. Alright, that was a number she knew, so she pressed the button to dial the number.   
“That’s a fast call back.”  
“If you had been a little bit more patiently I had answered the phone, but no, you needed to hang up when I came into the room.”  
“I can’t see that you’re around, Sara.”  
“Just telling you. So, what’s up, Sofia?” Sara took the telephone with her in the bathroom, rolling her eyes when she saw the little water puddles she had left on her way to the phone.   
“Did you have dinner already?”  
“No.”  
“Will you start early today?”  
“I don’t have a reason to do so. Why? Are you in town and want some company for your dinner?”  
“Yes.”  
“Where and when?”  
“Half an hour, Picasso in the Bellagio.”  
“Did you win the lottery? You know how much you pay for something to eat there?”  
“Yes.”  
“I don’t this as the dinner you owe me, Sofia. We can go anywhere else.”  
“It’s not for the bet, cheater.”  
Sara made the decision to ignore the cheater comment. She had won a bet that had no rules. When you have no rules, you can’t cheat.   
“Why not a diner?”  
“Bubbles doesn’t like diners, he likes Picasso.”  
“You want me to have dinner with you and your boss?”  
“And some other people, yes.”  
“Why?”  
“Why not?”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“I don’t want to have dinner with Bubbles and other people I don’t know.”  
“You can get to know them.”  
Sara sighed. “Listen, I’d like to have dinner with you, call me the next time you’re in Vegas alone or with Josh and we’ll meet for dinner. I’ll pass today.”  
“I’d like to have you around, Sara, I really do. And you don’t have to pay for your dinner, Bubbles will pay.”  
“And what does he expect me to do for that?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Sofia, men like Bubbles don’t do anything without a hidden agenda.”  
“If he has a hidden agenda it’s something like he wants to do me a favor. He isn’t trying to buy you, Sara, in no way. And if he moves on you, I’ll stop him.”  
“He’s your boss.”  
“Yes, my boss and not my slaveholder. If I don’t agree with things he does I let him know. And believe, I wouldn’t like it when he hits on you.”  
“Not?”  
“No. You’re a friend, I don’t like the idea he plays with a friend. Beside, that’s not his style, no need to worry about that. Come on, tell me what I have to do to change your mind?”  
“Why is it that important for you to have me around? This isn’t a kind of showing off what your lifestyle is now, is it?”  
“Do I need to answer this stupid question?”   
“Sorry.”  
“It’s your decision, I won’t annoy you but I’d be happy to see you in…well it’s only twenty-five minutes now.”  
Sara closed her eyes. Why did she even think about it? She had to be totally crazy.   
“Okay. But I can’t make it in twenty-five minutes. You caught me under the shower, I need a little bit more time.”  
“Shall I hold your towel?”  
“I think I can manage that.”  
“Fine. How much time do you need?”  
“Forty-five minutes.”  
“We’ll be at Picasso. I’m sure you know the way.”  
“In fact I do even if I’ve never been eating there.”  
“Perfect. I’ll see you in forty-five.”  
“Yeah.” Sara grumbled.   
“Oh and Sara?”  
“Yes?”  
“Thanks.”  
“I still don’t know why I do that and I’ll hang up before I change my mind.”  
“Good idea. Later.”   
“Later.”

“Where is your friend, Sofia?”  
“It’s the Bellagio, it’s Vegas, she’ll be on her way.” Sofia leant back on her chair. She, Josh, Bubbles and Bubbles’ wife were already at the Picasso. Bubbles had ordered some champagne for his wife and himself, while Sofia and Josh stuck to orange juice. After all, she was on duty. There was a bodyguard on the table behind them, observing the room.   
“Don’t forget, she can’t park in front of the casino and leave her car there.”  
“Valet parking is there for everybody.”  
“Yes, it is. The Sara I know won’t use it, she’ll rather take The Deuce.”  
“She knows her way up here?”  
“Yes. Does the waiter know she’s welcome here?” They sat on a table away from the other guests with a perfect view of the little lake and the water fountain.   
“Why don’t you make sure?”  
“Alright. George, I’ll be back in a minute.” She said to the bodyguard and left the table. There were a mix between guests, who were ordinary people, treating themselves with an expensive dinner in one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas and some celebrities, who were here to eat and to be seen. She paid attention to both groups, checking to find out if there was a familiar face; no matter if in a good or bad way. There weren’t any threats against Bubbles, what didn’t mean, nobody was after him or wanted payback for something.   
Sara wasn’t at the entrance. Sofia checked with the guy there again that would send Sara straight to their table and took her cell phone. Maybe she could reach the brunette.  
“What?”  
“Where are you?”  
“On my way.”  
“Will you let me wait for hours again? Like years ago at the phone booth?”  
“What phone booth?”  
“The werewolf case.”  
“Oh please, I don’t believe you get this old thing out. I didn’t let you wait on purpose, I didn’t get your call earlier.”  
“That’s what you said back then.”  
“It’s the truth.”  
“Sure.”  
“You’re a stubborn bitch.”   
These words weren’t said through the phone, Sofia heard them from behind her and turned. There was Sara, in a black dress, her phone in her hands and a smile on her face, that wasn’t as relaxed as she tried to let it look like.   
“I hope you’ll choose other words when we’re in there.” Sofia hugged Sara. “I’m glad you came here.”  
“I’m not sure if I’m glad.”  
“We’ll make sure you’re glad.”  
“So, how many people are “we” exactly?”  
“With me? Four plus a bodyguard.”  
“Four?”  
“Yes. Bubbles, his wife, Josh and me.”  
“What am I suppose to do in a family dinner?”  
“Have a great time, delicious food and a breathtaking view on the water fountain show.”  
“I can see that with a veggie burger from the Strip.”  
“Shut up and come with me, they’re waiting for us. You’re late.”  
“Ever tried to get here in rush hour and get a decent parking lot?”  
“No, I take VIP parking.”  
“Of course.”  
Sofia smiled, took Sara by her wrist and pulled her with her into the restaurant. Without hesitation she got them between the tables with the other guests to their table, giving Sara no time to check who was there too. Not that she imagined that Sara cared.   
“Bubbles, that’s Sara Sidle, an old colleague of LVPD times and a – let’s say new – friend. I told you, I found her in the desert a few weeks ago. Sara, that are Bubbles and Gaelle.”  
“Good evening.” To Sofia it was obvious Sara didn’t feel comfortable here.   
“Hello Sara, it’s nice that you could make it.” Bubbles said, got up and shook her hand.   
Sara took a second to have a closer look at the man in front of her. Vincent Trent – or Bubbles like he preferred – was in his late forties, around six foot tall, sporty with short black hair and green eyes, that made it obvious when he took a closer look at something or somebody. Sara felt his eyes, like he tried to read her. Nothing that made her feel more comfortable.   
“Thanks for inviting me, Mister Trend.”  
“Bubbles.”  
“Oh, alright, Bubbles.”  
“Hello, I’m Gaelle. It’s nice to meet a friend of Sofia. I started to worry that she forgot that she had a life beside her work and this gorgeous young man over here.” Gaelle petted Josh’s head.   
“I think with Josh in her life, she has everything she needs.”   
“No, not everything, but it can’t get much better.”  
“True. Hey Josh.”  
“Sara!” He lifted a Playmobil horse. “Look what Bubbles and Gaelle brought me from France, horses.”  
“Yes, nice horses. Jumpers. Or can they be racing horses too?”  
“Horses can be everything they want, just like humans. That’s what Bubbles said. He said, if I want to be famous, I can be famous. And if I want to be an astronaut, I can be that too.”  
“That’s true.” Sara sat next to the boy. “And what do you want to be?”  
“A basketball player.”  
“Oh, in that case you need to grow and practice a lot.”  
“I will. I’ll be very tall and very good.”   
“And you don’t want to talk to him into a job as a detective or something like that?” Sara asked Sofia with a smirk.  
“No, if he wants to be a second Michael Air Jordan, that’s fine with me.” Sofia stroke with her index finger over Josh’s cheek. All she wanted was that her son was happy. The rest wasn’t important. 

“You did what?”   
For a moment Sara was afraid Greg would faint right here in the lab. He had no color in his face, his eyes were unnaturally wide and full with shock and disbelieve. She felt like she had told him that she was captured by aliens and managed to escape in the last second.   
“I had dinner.”  
“You didn’t have dinner. Not an ordinary dinner. You had dinner with Bubbles and his wife.”  
“Don’t forget Sofia and…the bodyguard.” Sara wasn’t sure if Sofia wanted her old colleagues to know about Josh. It was better when the blonde mentioned her son herself when she was here the last time.   
“Bubbles invited you.”  
“No, Sofia called.”  
“On behave of her boss, who wanted to get to know you.”  
“So what?”  
“So you’re in touch with the rich and famous.”  
“People I don’t belong to.”  
“It can’t be bad to know some important people. Do you think Bubbles can give you some tips for the next races?”  
“He’ll tell me to bet on his horses of course.”  
“True. Wow. Dinner with Bubbles.”  
“He is only human, Greg.”  
“A rich and famous human. Did he order his champagne?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Did you?”  
“Greg, I had to work after the dinner, I ordered orange juice.”  
“Oh, yes. True. Bugger. You missed the chance to try some of his fine champagne. Or did you do that the last time you were at his Fort?”  
“No, I had a beer.”  
He shook his head. Sara was ignoring all great those chances, that opened up for her.   
“Why didn’t you tell them, you can’t have dinner without me?”  
“Because that would be a lie.”  
“You could have made me so happy.”  
“The next time I’ll tell Sofia to call you instead of me, this way we’ll both be happy. You to be with Bubbles and I to stay home. I don’t care for these rich people, I don’t need overprized restaurant and expensive champagne. The only reason I went there was because Sofia asked me to do so. She owes m big time for that.”  
“I’d owe her very big time if she did the same to me.”  
“What do you expect these people to do? Share their money with you?”  
“Help me to get more money? Maybe a nice girlfriend after you don’t want me.”  
“No, I love you Greg, but only as a friend.”  
“That’s good but not enough and the reason why I need to get a girlfriend; if she’s rich I won’t complain.”  
She sighed. Why did she tell Greg about her evening? Of course he was overexcited and didn’t understand why she wasn’t excited at all. The next time, she would be quiet. No, wait. There wouldn’t be a next time!

“You look much more comfortable now.” Sofia put her hand shortly on Sara’s shoulder. She had needed a few seconds to find her friend on a hidden table in the diner. “Sorry I’m late.”  
“No problem.”  
“Rush hour got me.”  
“Is your boss on his way to…wherever?”  
“New Orleans. Yes. He was happy with his business here and is on his way to sell a few more bottles of his champagne and sparkling wine.”  
“And leaves his head of security in charge for the Fort.”  
“As usual. He told me to say hello to you, I think, he liked you.”  
“He has to like his wife.”  
“He loves his wife and if he doesn’t, it will be painful for him. She’s a karate champion, she can break his neck within a second.”  
“His head of security will get in her way and safe his life.”  
“No I won’t. I’ll fight gangster, mob killer or whatever, but not an angry wife. No way. If he messes up there, he’s on his own.”  
“Good thinking.”  
“I know. What I didn’t tell you, you looked great in your dress that night. You should wear something like that more often.”  
“Of course, there’s nothing better to wear at a crime scene than a dress.”  
“Your life is more than crime scenes, Sara.”  
“It’s a very big part of my life. And a dress is not very comfortable nor is it handy.”  
“I don’t agree on the comfortable part, I do agree on the handy part.”  
“That’s why you wear suits, you can hide your weapon better and it’s much easier to fight a perpetrator in casual shoes than in high heels. Did you have any problems while Bubbles was here?”  
“No, everything was fine. He is a business man, not a mobster, he can come to Vegas without having a dozen people with a gun following him. I told you, this job is less stressful than being a detective.”  
“Yeah, but as a detective, you had your gun visible on your hip and it swayed so lovely unison with the badge on the other side.” Sara grinned.   
Sofia eyed amused. “Did you check me out?”  
“I had to make sure you’re not a treat, you were too close to Grissom.”  
“I was never interested in him.”  
“That was something I didn’t know.”  
“Did you think I’m a treat?”  
“Yes.”  
“That explains why you were such a bitch.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“You heard me.” Sofia nodded a thanks to the waitress, who brought her some coffee.   
“Tell me again why I meet you here.”  
“Because you like to spend some time with me.”  
Sara hated to admit that Sofia was right. She liked to spend time with the blonde and she had no idea why. She didn’t want to do that years ago. What had changed that she asked Sofia to have dinner together? Was it because she didn’t see the blonde as a treat anymore? Or because Sofia had saved Sara’s life twice? She wasn’t sure what the reason was, it irritated her sometimes. On the other hand, she felt good, it was comfortable and she enjoyed her time with Sofia. Why question something that she enjoyed? That would only spoil the fun.   
“How is Josh?”  
“He’s fine, he should be on his way back from kindergarten.”  
“Who takes him there and gets him back home?”  
“Most times Steo.”  
“Is he…?”  
“He isn’t the father and he isn’t my lover. Steo is a friend. I told you, he is responsible for the horses in the Fort, that gives him some time and he spends this time with Josh. While Josh wants to be a basketball player, Steo would like to make him a jock. Josh likes riding and I’m sure he’ll change his mind about his future job a few more times.”  
“Probably.”  
“And I’m happy when my son prefers to stay around the Fort, joins Steo with the horses than being in Vegas and getting in trouble. That will happen soon enough. They don’t stay little and cute, they grow up and get in trouble.”  
“Tell him the captain will kick his ass when he ends up in trouble.”  
“He isn’t scared of my mother.”  
“Not? How comes?”  
“She spoils him. If that doesn’t change, she isn’t a help. And all the people in the Fort spoil him too, he’s the Fort baby, so he gets whatever he asks for. Only his mom is a heartless beast most times.”  
“I’m sure he has the best mother he can ask for and you’ll make sure that he’ll be a good teenager.”  
“I’ll try.”  
“But?” Sara could hear there was more in Sofia’s words.  
“But…it would be nicer if I had somebody by my side to share nice and less nice sides of being a parent.”  
“You can’t tell me that you don’t have any offers.”  
“Do you take anybody?”  
“No.”  
“See. I don’t want a relationship with somebody I work with, that ends up in trouble too often. It’s hard too meet other people because what I do most times is work and be at home and play with Josh. I don’t go out on weekends, I don’t hit the clubs and I don’t want to have somebody in my life, who wants to be out all the time. That leaves me to friends of Bubbles, which is a very big No-No.”  
“Greg is available.” Sara offered sweetly.  
“Can’t take your little admire away.” Sofia shot back dryly.   
“Your point. I understand what you mean. It is nicer to come home to somebody or to have somebody home waiting for you.”  
“Yes. Somebody to share laughter and tears. I’m a little bit tired of being single.”  
“You can have a look for your Mister Right tonight.”  
“Where? In a club? I don’t want a one night stand, it’s not sex I’m after. Hell, I don’t know anymore what sex is.” Sofia laughed bitter. “Maybe I’m frigid.”  
“I don’t think so.”  
“Not? Did you have a relationship after Grissom?”  
“No.”  
“Did you have sex?”  
Sara smiled a bit. Was she still allowed not to answer questions after Sofia asked her very personal and intimate questions.   
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I tell you, I’m frustrated. No wonder nobody wants me.” Sofia buried her face in her hands. She was a sorry excuse for a head of security. Not to mention a disgrace for all mothers. She should care about her son and not about her sex life. Josh was more important, that he was happy, had everything he needed, and not that she got laid daily, weekly or monthly.   
Sara got up, sat next to Sofia, got her arm around the blonde and pulled her in. “I don’t think it’s wrong not to sleep around. You have Josh as your highest priority, that’s what it should be. After that comes the job, very important to keep your son and yourself alive. You’re responsible for two lives, Sofia, you do everything right. You miss to have a partner, you miss to have sex, both normal, it’s not like you try to avoid a relationship or sex. And I think the man, who will be lucky enough to be chosen by you, can call himself the luckiest man on this planet.”  
“You just say that because you’re my friend.”  
“Who said I’m your friend? I can’t recall that I ever called you a friend.” Sara teased softly. Yes, she was Sofia’s friend. It was a little bit strange sometimes. How fast they had become friends, how much she enjoyed to be with Sofia, that she even the blonde sometimes and thought of calling her, but didn’t do it because it was ridiculous. It was, wasn’t it?   
“You spend more time with me than with anybody else, Sara. You like me.” Sofia laid her head on Sara’s shoulder and tried to hide the single tear, that was running down her cheek.   
“Maybe. And to answer your question: a couple of weeks ago.”  
“Huh?”  
“The last time I had sex.”  
“Oh, you didn’t have to…”  
“I know. I think it’s something I can tell my friend. Especially after she saved me the day after it.”  
“What? What do you…when you were in the desert…?”  
“I had an interesting weekend in Los Angeles and I did more than enjoy my surfboard.”  
“You got yourself a cute surfer? One with long blonde hair, a six pack, this surfer smile and a pick-up he used to get you up on a mountain to see the moon light over the ocean while you had sex?”  
“You’re awful romantic, Sofia.”  
“Sometimes. No moon light?”  
“Let’s say you were right about the hair, the rest was wrong.”  
“He didn’t take you to a romantic spot? Maybe I live in a movie.”  
“She took me to a motel, not very romantic, no. But it wasn’t supposed to be romantic, it was nothing more than some fun for one night. If I look for romance, I look for a relationship. In Las Vegas and not Los Angeles, I don’t like long distance relationships. They don’t work out.”  
“They are stressful. The thing is, you don’t have many changes to fight because you don’t see each other.”  
“If the only for not fighting in my relationship is because we’re not in the same town, it’s about time to end the relationship.”  
“True.” Sofia was quiet for a few seconds. “She?” Slowly she realized, Sara had said, ‘she’ took her to a motel. Not he.   
“Yes.”  
“But you…Grissom…”  
“Yes, usually I have relationships with men. But sometimes I need a little change. It’s like you don’t eat the same thing every day. If you want to keep this example, men are the main course, women are the dessert. Or the forbidden sweets.”  
“In that case I’m on a diet for over three years. A no food at all diet.”  
“Not healthy.”  
“Not funny either. I would have never picked you as…I thought you’re simple straight.”  
“Have I been simple in any kind of way?” Sara smirked.   
“No.” Sofia snorted with laughter. No, Sara had been a lot of things, simple wasn’t one of them.   
“That wasn’t nice of you, Sofia. Honest but not nice.” Sara pushed Sofia softly out of her arm and went back to her old place.   
“So a sexy blonde, eh?” Sofia grinned.  
“Don’t grin like that, you’re not sexy. And you’re not a real blonde.”  
“It’s a shame I don’t have a weapon with me, this would be the perfect moment to shoot you, bloody bitch.”  
“If I ever feel like having an annoying smug dyed brunette I’ll ask you.”  
“I can’t be that desperate.”  
“You are already desperate.”  
“Not that desperate. Before I give in to you I’ll jump the next guy on the corner. I’m sure he has more charm than you have.”  
“Now, aren’t we lovely friends?” Sara chuckled.   
“Yes, we are.” Sofia took Sara’s hands. “Thanks for cheering me up a bit, I’ll stop whining and complaining now.”  
“I can make you complain again.”  
“How and why?”  
“You owe me something.”  
“Yes, the dinner, old cheater. Where do you want to have dinner? Here? I won’t complain then.”  
“No, I want to have dinner with you and Josh at the Catal Restaurant.”  
“Catal Restaurant?” Sofia furrowed her brows. She had never heard about that place before. It had to be very new or very small. “Where’s that?”  
“Anaheim.”  
“Anaheim? Like Los Angeles Anaheim?“ Was there an Anaheim around Las Vegas? Or was Sara really talking about the Anaheim two hundred twenty miles away?  
“Yes.”  
“Sara, there are I don’t know how many restaurants in Las Vegas, over a hundred, why do you want to have dinner in Anaheim?”  
“Because I like the view.”  
“What the view possible give you that you don’t have here? Anaheim isn’t at the ocean the last time I checked.”  
“A lot of animals.”  
“Animals? You’re a vegetarian, so you must be talking about animals, that are alive. Is it a farm?”  
“No.”  
“What special animals do they have?”  
“Mice, ducks, dogs, chipmunks.” Sara couldn’t be serious. She wanted to go all the way to Anaheim to see farm animals? She could have that in Vegas too.   
“You get them everywhere.”  
“Elephants, lions, bears.”  
“Is it a zoo?”  
“No.”  
“Sara, what is special to this restaurant? Or these animals?”  
“You want to tell me, you don’t see anything special in Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Dumbo, Bambi and all the others?”  
“You want to go to Disney Land?”  
“Yes.” Sara grinned.   
“Why?”  
“Because Josh and me would enjoy it and you have no other choice, you lost the bet.”  
“I can’t believe this.” Sofia shook her head in disbelieve. Sara wanted them to drive for four hours to have dinner in Disney Land? Not to mention the price to get into the park because they couldn’t just go to the restaurant, eat something and leave again. What was wrong with Sara? That didn’t sound like the Sara she had met a few years ago. That sounded like a completely different Sara.   
“Even if we leave here early in the morning, get to Anaheim, go into the park and have something to eat there, there’s no relation to the prize we have to pay.”  
“You pay the food, that was part of the bet. But you’re right, it’s not worth to go there for a day.”  
“I’m glad you start to think again.”  
“There’s no point in going to Anaheim for one day.”  
“That were my words.”  
“We need to go there for a week or so.”  
“What?” Something had to be wrong with her ears. Sofia understood, Sara wanted to go there for a week. With her and Josh. Like having holidays together. No, not like. That were holidays together.   
“Now you’re scared.”  
“I’m not scared, I need…I think I need to visit an ear specialist. I understood – you’ll laugh about that – that you want to spend a week with Josh and me in Los Angeles.”  
“I said that.”  
Sofia had to realize Sara was serious.   
“Why? I mean, I feel honored in some kind of way I can’t explain right now, but why?”  
“Sofia, all you need to say is that you don’t want to go and it’s alright. I won’t be mad, I’ll choose another restaurant – a very expensive one to make you pay.”  
“I didn’t say I don’t want, I wonder why you want to spend a week with me? And Josh.”  
“Didn’t we find out a few minutes ago we’re friends – even if we both can’t quite believe it?”  
“Yes.” Sofia had to laugh. That was a good description. “You know Josh will love you if he can go to Disney Land because you want us to be there.”  
“Tell him it was your idea, gives you some points the next time you’ll tell him he can’t do what he wants to do.”  
“No, it’s your idea, you’ll get all the love for it.”  
“Okay. And for the sake of Josh’s mother we can limit our time in Disney Land and go anywhere else.”  
“I don’t mind Disney Land – but a whole week could be too much. I can remember a Sara Sidle, who didn’t like to be crowded all the time.”  
“She’s still there. What else would you like to see?”  
“The ocean. And Hollywood of course. Stalking stars.”  
“When was the last time you were in Hollywood?”  
“Uhm…twenty years ago. Why?”  
“You can walk a yard on the Hollywood Boulevard without that anybody asks you for a dollar or some change. A really annoying place. Can we settle for a room somewhere off the Boulevard? In a quiet area? Not crowded with tourists.”  
“Yes.”  
“Prefect. That means, there are only two things left to do.”  
“What?”  
“First of all you need to tell Josh about this trip.”  
“You’ll tell him, it was your idea. I want you to see his happy eyes when he hears, he’ll meet Pluto.”  
“Alright.”  
“What is second.”  
“We need to find a week we both have off. Any week you fancy?”  
“A week Bubbles isn’t in Las Vegas.” Sofia took her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the calendar. “In three weeks. He’ll be back in two weeks, stays a few days and leaves then back to France. Be prepared that you’ll get invited to dinner again.”  
“Why?” Sara made a grimace.   
“He likes to know my friends – especially of they want to take me to a trip to Los Angeles.”  
“If you think you can make me take back my request and let you off the hook, you’re seriously wrong. You can call me and invite me to dinner and I’ll let you know, I can’t go anywhere without my boyfriend Greg. He’s very jealous.”  
“You want him to be around?”  
“He’d enjoy the dinner.”  
“Alright, how is that: I’ll invite you and him to dinner and ask Bubbles and Gaelle if they want to join us too.”  
“What is the price for that?”  
“Why do you think there’s a price?”  
“You’re too nice.”  
“Friends are nice to each other. See it as a little thanks you for making my son very happy. I’m sure you suggested Disney Land because of him. That was why you said, I need to take him with us when I lose. You planed that.”  
“You have no evidence to support that and I won’t comment that.”   
“No need for a comment, I know it.” Sofia smiled. Alright, she would go on holidays with Sara. Wasn’t that crazy? It sounded not real. 

Part 5

Sofia hadn’t heard the knock on the door, so she was scared for a second when she felt hands on her shoulders. Before she could attack her potential attacker, I voice talked to her.  
“Don’t punch me, Sofia.”  
“Sara! What the…”  
“Your security guys let us in, I know the way, we knocked on the front door to your apartment, nobody answered and let ourselves in.”  
“I need to talk to my security men again. They can’t let you walk around the Fort without one of them by your side. You could steal the horses, the paintings or whatever.”  
“The food?”  
“Yes.” Sofia hugged Sara. “Thanks for coming. It’s good to see you.”  
“Ditto.”  
“And it’s nice to see you, Greg.” Sofia hugged Greg. “If you try to steal anything for your apartment, I’ll call my most vicious guy to punch you. Understood?”  
“I’d never dare to touch anything.”  
“You better don’t.”  
“Sara!” Josh came into the kitchen and ran to Sara. The shyness he had shown first, was gone. As soon as he saw Sara, he was happy and wanted to be on her arms.   
“Hey Josh.” She lifted him up and kissed his cheek. “How is my big boy?”  
“Good. I got new slot cars.”  
“Did Bubbles bring you some?”  
“Yes. Do you want to see them?”  
“Of course. And can we take my friend Greg with us? He loves cars, especially fast cars. Maybe you can teach him how to drive a slot car.”  
“He can’t drive a slot car?” Josh looked full with disbelieve at Greg.  
“I don’t think so. Can you teach him?”  
“Yes.”  
“Perfect. Come on Greg, you’ll learn something.”  
“Alright.” Greg followed Sara and Josh into Josh’s room. The boy had built up a one by two yards big slot car racing area with four cars on the tracks.   
“Blue and red one are new.”  
“And both have the number one, so which one is faster?”  
“Red.”  
“The red car is always the fasted.” Greg said and took a closer look at the slot cars in a box. “Wow, you’ve got a Ferrari.”  
“From Bubbles. Wanna try?”  
“Of course.”  
“I show you.” Very busy and important Josh got the car out of the box and put it on the tracks. Then he gave Greg a joystick and placed a black Porsche next to the Ferrari.   
“You need to press the red button to make your car drive…”  
Sara could see from the look in Greg’s eyes, that her friend knew exactly what he had to do, but he let the boy explain everything tom him. She had been right, this was the best place for Greg until dinner was served. And it was the best way to make Josh confide in Greg.   
With a smile on her face she went back into the kitchen, where Sofia stood in front of the oven.   
“What are you cooking for us?”  
“Coq au vin. And for the vegetarian an omelet. With that I’ll serve fried potatoes and vegetables.”  
“Sounds good to me. I don’t know what the first one is, it sounds French.”  
“Rooster in red wine. You can try the sauce if you don’t mind that a rooster is in it.”  
“I think I can handle that. What did Bubbles say about your invitation and the fact, that there’ll be two more people?”  
“He’s looking to see you again and he’s happy that I have some friends outside work. My boss worries about my private life.”  
“Obviously. Like he loves to bring your son presents.”  
“Yes. The new slot cars. The thing is, Bubbles love to sit there with Josh for hours, racing and Gaelle gets mad because he forgets everything.”  
“That makes him very human. And you’re surrounded by your boss when you’re off the clock.”  
“I told, I’m never off the clock when he’s here.”  
“True. Do you need a hand?”  
“You can cook?”  
“No.”  
“Stay away from my food! Or wait, you can set the table in the living room. Plates are up there on the right. Wine glasses are in the living room. I’m sure Bubbles brings one of his champagne bottles. Does Greg have to drive?”  
“No, I’ll drive. I’m fine with juice.”  
“We’ll share a bottle of his best champagne when we’re in Los Angeles. On a balcony, overlooking the city.”  
“Sounds good to me. Five or six sets?”  
“Five.”  
“No Stephen?”  
“No, Steo isn’t here. He takes some of the horses to Texas, there’s a race on Saturday. He had two stallions here for these races.”  
“Two stallions between all the mares? You want more foals?”  
“We do, but not with them as the father. They’re too young, Bubbles isn’t sure if he’ll keep them for breeding or sell them soon. Depends on how they run on the weekend.”  
“A run for their life.”  
“They won’t get killed if they lose – but they won’t be stallions any longer.”  
“Which comes close to killing.”  
“That’s in the eye of the beholder. I’d rather be dead.”   
Sara and Sofia turned. Bubbles was in the kitchen.  
“Oh, hello…Bubbles.”  
“Hello Sara, it’s nice to see you. Even if I have to be mad with you.”  
“Why?” Sara couldn’t help but swallow. Somehow it sounded like a serious threat when a man like Bubbles told her, he had to be mad with her.   
“You’ll take my head of security away.”  
“I don’t.”  
“Your holiday plan.”  
“Oh.” Was it better to ask him, if Sofia could come with her? No, what a nonsense, Sofia had a right to have a few days off.   
“You can make up for that.”  
“How?”  
“I could need a CSI – and my head of security.” He was serious now.   
“What’s up?” Sofia had noticed the change of the tone in the voice of her boss. Something had happened.  
“How much do you trust your CSI friend?”  
“With my life.” Sofia said without hesitation. There was no reason why she shouldn’t trust Sara.   
“Alright. I need you upstairs, Sofia.” He put his eyes on Sara. “Do you have your kit with you?”  
“Always when I’ve my car with me. And every time your security guards want me to open it.”  
“Good to know. Can you work off the books?”  
“Is it legal?”  
“Of course.”  
“What do you want us to do?”  
“My wife over ninety percent of her jewelries since last night. And it’s not like she put it somewhere else.”  
“Somebody robbed you?” Sofia asked shocked. If that was true, it meant not only that Bubbles lost a great deal of money but also that Sofia didn’t do a good job. She had to protect his properties.   
“Yes. Could you have an eye on it?”  
“Immediately.” Sofia turned off the oven.   
“I’ll get my kit.”   
“Meet me at the front door, I’ll show you the way. Bubbles, is Gaelle in the room?”  
“Yes.”  
“I need the two of you to leave, you destroy evidence. Get Gaelle out, don’t touch anything and wait in front of the door. I’ll get Sara upstairs.” There were no more thoughts of the dinner, Sofia was back on duty. She stopped at Josh’s room.   
“Guys, Sara and me need to sort something out for Bubbles. I turned off the oven. Are you fine here?”  
“Yeah.” Was all she got as an answer. Greg and Josh were too busy to race with their slot cars and had no time to look up.   
She walked down to the front door, where Sara was already waiting with her kit.   
“Thanks.” Sofia guided them the hallway down and stopped in front of a part of the wall. When she touched the wall Sara saw a little button, that was almost invisible because it had the same color like the wall. Magically the wall opened and a elevator appeared.   
“Wow.”  
“Yes. Hidden.” They got inside and Sofia pressed the only button that was inside. “This elevator goes straight to Bubbles’ apartment. If you want to use it, you need to know it’s there and you need to have a sensor. Without that one the door won’t open.”  
“Who has one?”  
“Beside Bubbles and me? Gaelle.”  
“Nobody else?”  
“So how can people come to their apartment?”  
“They trick the sensor or – that’s up to the great CSI to find out. Let’s see what the evidence tells you.”  
“Alright.” The door opened and they found Bubbles and Gaelle in front of a golden door. Gaelle looked very upset.   
“Sofia, I’m so sorry to destroy our dinner…”  
“You don’t destroy our dinner. It’s my job to have a look – actually it’s my job to prevent situations like this.”  
“The problem is, when people really want to get into the apartment, they’ll find a way.”  
“They’re not suppose to find a way. Is the door locked?”  
“Yes.” Bubbles took a keycard and the door jumped open.   
“Are you the only ones with a keycard?” Sara asked.  
“Yes. Only Gaelle and me.”  
Sara sat her kit on the floor. “Sofia, can you get the lock out? If the intruder entered through this door, he had left some traces.” She looked at Bubbles. “Sir, it would be easier if you make this an officially investigation. We could take the lock back to the lab and see, when the intruder entered. I can’t do that without a computer.”  
“I don’t want the police here.”  
Sara looked at Sofia. “I can lift prints, can check for signs of forced entry, but I can’t do anything bigger. And I can’t use anything that I need to bring to the lab.”  
“Sara is right, if you want a proper investigation, she needs to make this official. How big is the value of the jewelry?”  
“Around a quarter of a million. And I don’t want that in the news.”  
“Okay.” Sofia closed her eyes for a second. “Maybe we can work on a compromise. I told you both about my old boss, captain Brass. I can assure you, he wouldn’t take this to the press, he would work this quietly. Sara could be the official CSI.”  
“Do you think that’s the best?”  
“I’d love to say, I handle it myself because I feel like I didn’t do my job. Nobody is suppose to be in your room. Unfortunately somebody did enter and I wasn’t there to stop him. Or her. So yes, I’d like to have the best people and the best chances to catch whoever stole the jewelry.”  
Bubbles was quiet for a few seconds.   
“I don’t like it. But you’re the head of security. Get him here, only him.”  
“I’ll try my best.”  
“Here.” Sara handed Sofia her work cell phone. “Call Brass. I’ll start in the room. Can you tell me where your jewelry was, Gaelle?”  
“In the little golden jewel box on the dresser left side of the bed.”  
“Okay.” Sara went into the room. For a few second she stood still and took a very good look at the room. The bedroom was around fifty square yards big, a huge king size bed in the middle of the left wall. A nightstand on each side, long wardrobes that ended at the end of the wall. Straight ahead of Sara were half a dozen windows, two armchairs, a coffee table. On her right was a log fire, more arm chairs, a door and a big couch facing the wall. On the wall was a two by three yards TV screen. The dominate color in the room was white, everything was white, only the deep red cushions on the couch and the arm chairs and the carpet in the same color gave the room some warmth.   
Sara started to print the inside of the door handle and got some prints. She lifted all of them and made her way to the dresser. The little jewel box was wide open, a ring and a bracelet were inside. Sara got partial prints on the ring and the bracelet, two good prints from the jewel box. She didn’t want to say this outside, but she was sure, when somebody was smart enough to get into the room, he or she was smart enough to wear gloves.   
“Brass is on his way.” Sofia entered the room, hands gloved. “I called Grissom too, he ordered you to be the CSI on scene. Looks like your shift starts early today.”  
“Yes.”  
“Did you find anything?”  
“A few prints, probably Bubbles and Gaelles.”  
“I bagged the lock. Can I help you with anything?”  
“Detective Curtis, you can secure the scene.”  
“Very funny, the scene is secured.”  
“Do you want to play CSI again?”  
“I can be your supervisor.”  
“It will never happen that you’ll be my supervisor.” Sara smiled. “Have you been in this room before?”  
“Once or twice.”  
“Does it look like anything else is missing?”  
“I asked them, according to Gaelle there’s only the jewelry missing.”  
“Do they have money in here? Anything else that’s valuable?”  
“Yes. Nothing is missing.”  
“I assume they’ve a safe. Did anybody try to open it?”  
“I can’t tell you.”  
“Why not check it?”  
“I need to clear that first. Plus I need to know where it is.” Sofia opened the door. “Bubbles, we need to check the safe in case whoever took the jewelry also tried his or her luck there.”  
“Nothing is missing out of the safe.”  
“I know, you told me. But there could be evidence that somebody tried to open it and that might help us.”  
Bubbles looked at Gaelle, who gave a shrug.   
“Alright. But, I’m sorry and it’s not personal but for safety reason, I need you to leave the room, Sara.”  
“No problem. Sofia can have a look at the safe, she knows what’s important. Do you want me to wait outside or can I go into the bathroom and have a look around there?”  
“Be my guest.”  
“Thanks. Sofia, if you need anything from the kit, take it.” Sara took her fingerprints powder and went into the bathroom. It was half the size of the bedroom, a huge shower with a glass door, a whirlpool, a bath tube big enough for two, two big basins, a big mirror over both basins, a big bathroom cabinet and all was in white, like the bedroom. Over the toilet was a window with ordinary glass. The only point an intruder could use to get into the bathroom. Sara printed the frame, lifted several prints and opened the window. She could pull it up and it stayed open without that she had to hold it. Very convenience if you’re a burglar.   
She printed the windowsill and had to smile. That wasn’t a fingerprint, that was a boot print.   
“Sofia?” She wasn’t sure if was allowed to go back to the bedroom. A few seconds later Sofia appeared in the bathroom.  
“Yes?”  
“I need my kit for a second.”  
“I’ll get it to you, we’re almost done there.”  
“You mean, you’re done.”  
“Yes.”  
“Good.”  
“Whatever I find won’t be very helpful if Bubbles presses charges.”  
“It will give him a very good idea who it was, but no, whatever you find can’t be use.”  
“I’m sorry he asked you to leave.” Sofia put her hand on Sara’s shoulder.  
“No need to. It’s his house, if he wants nobody to know where his safe is, I’ve no problems with that.”  
“Okay. I get your kit.” Sofia left the room to come back a few seconds later. “What size is it?”  
“I’ll tell you in a minute. Go on with the safe before Jim is here.”  
“He can’t come to the apartment without anybody helping him with the elevator.”  
“Right.” Sara lifted the boot print and took her linear measure. “Size eleven. Do you have a list of the shoe sizes of the employees?”  
“Yes, Bubbles pays for the work boots. I’ll get you and Jim a copy.”  
“I like it when people cooperate.” Sara grinned.   
“I’d like it when you give me something more than a boot print, investigator.”  
“Get lost and work on your own scene, H.O.S.”   
“Hos?”  
“Head of Security.”  
Sofia shook her head and left the bathroom. She left the kit with Sara, the brunette needed it more than she did.   
Sara checked the area around the window, but the cleaner was good and there were no little stones, no soil or anything else around. She climbed carefully on the toilette seat, fully aware of the fact, that if she broke the lit, it cost more than she earned a month. To her relief the lit didn’t break and she sat on the windowsill, leant out of the window, without having a look down and started to print the outside of the window and the frame. Whoever used the window to get in, had to touch it. Maybe the burglar didn’t use gloves on the outside, on in the room.   
She was almost done when two hands grabbed her knees.   
“I hope you don’t try to kill yourself.” Sofia made sure Sara was safe.   
“No, if I had to kill myself I’d prefer something else. At the moment I think more of kicking somebody’s ass than breaking my neck.”  
“Good. Got something?”  
“No, I’m afraid our burglar used gloves the whole time. Anything off the safe?”  
“No. I don’t think whoever was in the room knew where it is. Can I do anything for you? Do you need some help? Beside somebody who holds you so you won’t fall out of the window.”  
“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”  
“In that case I’ll go down and wait for Jim.”  
“Have a good reunion.”  
“We will.”

“We started with the dinner.” Greg said apologetic when Sara came into the kitchen.   
“That’s alright.”  
“Where have you been? You left two hours ago?”  
“Mom?” Josh asked.  
“Your mom is with Bubbles, she’ll be here soon. Is everything alright, Josh?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good.” Sara took the boy on her lap, hugged him and held on to him. “We have a case, that’s why Sofia is upstairs. Jim is here too.”  
“Something bigger?”  
“Nobody got hurt, only stolen jewelry.”  
“And you were the CSI on scene?”  
“Yes. Bubbles asked me to help out. I wasn’t allowed to search everywhere, Sofia had to work on some things. But I think, I know how the intruder came in the room. I need to go the lab and get my evidence there.”  
“Do you have some time to eat?”  
“I’d prefer to leave right away.”  
“Take five minutes to eat, Sara. You won’t do that when you’re in the lab. You forget everything as soon as you start to work.” Greg got up to fetch some dinner for Sara.   
“Sara, stay here?”  
“No, I have to work, Josh. Greg and me have to leave soon.”  
“No! Play!”  
“The next time. Did you teach Greg how to drive the slot cars?”  
“Yes. He’s good. I’m better.”  
“Of course you are. I promise the next time I’ll have more time.”  
“Stay here?”  
“I can also stay here the next time. Plus if you want, I can wait for you in front of your kindergarten and bring you home. Would you like that?”  
“Yes!” Josh smiled.  
“You need my permission to collect him from kindergarten.” Sofia came in the kitchen.  
“I’m sure I’ll get it.”  
“I’ll think about it. Josh, can you do mom a favor?”  
“Yes.”  
“Can you go and help Steo with the horses?”  
“Yes.” Josh hugged Sara, got down her lap and left the room.   
“You do something to my son that makes, that he likes you very much. I hope you don’t try to steal him away, Sara. Get your own child if you want one.”  
“No, I don’t have time for my own child, I’ll borrow yours. I like him, he is a really nice, bright and polite young man, are you sure you’re his mother?”  
“Eat your dinner and leave, you have to work!” Sofia took her plate and sat next to Sara.  
“Somebody broke in?” Greg asked her.  
“Yes. Bubbles got me and Sara to check the room, we talked him into calling Jim because it has to be an official case. For insurance reasons and to allow Sara to use the lab to work on the evidence. Jim talks to all the men with the right boor size and I collected all work boots for you. They are in your car.” Sofia got the car keys back to Sara.   
“Thanks.”  
“Could Brass talk you into coming back to LVPD?” Greg smiled.  
“Greg, if you could work here, for Bubbles, much better money and hours, having his great champagne for free, meet interesting and important people, have dinner for free in expensive restaurants, would you go back to LVPD and get bad money, bad work hours and have people shoot at you?”  
“No, I’d choose the mob life.”  
“He isn’t a mobster.”  
“I can understand that you prefer to stay here. But we miss you.”  
“You can come along and visit me.”  
“Hah, I’ll take your word for that. Josh and me, we need another race to find out, who’s really the best racer.”  
“So you come and visit my son and Sara…oh well, she is here because of Josh too. Leaves more time to work for me.”  
“Sometimes I want to see you too.” Sara cocked her head. “It’s very seldom but sometimes I do. Usually it’s because I can’t take Josh with me to a night at the clubs.”  
“I think, you should really leave now, Sara.”  
“Yeah, you’re right.” Sara checked her watch. “I should.” She took her plate back to the dishwasher.   
“I’ll get my stuff.” Greg said. He had left his shoes in Josh’s room.   
“Will you come to Vegas too?”  
“No, Brass does the police stuff, I will stay here, try to figure out how the burglar got into the room. The window is in the third level, he needs to get up there somehow.”  
“That’s the job of the CSI.”  
“Will the CSI do her job?”  
“Yes. The CSI had already a look around. I couldn’t find a long ladder, I’ll come back as soon as there is daylight and check the Fort. I’d appreciate it when I can have a look everywhere I think it’s important.”  
“The head of security will accompany you, she’ll make sure, you see everything you want to see.”  
“Thanks.” Sara hugged Sofia. “And don’t talk yourself into a guilt, that isn’t yours. It’s not your fault that somebody broke in, do you hear me?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. And make sure your mobster doesn’t kill all men with a size eleven boot.”  
“He won’t, I will. They always have their own killers.”  
“Right. Don’t make me investigate against you. I’ll get you.”  
“I was the acting supervisor.”  
“You were, yes. That’s all I say about this topic.” Sara grinned. 

“All jewelries are where they belong?” Sara asked when she and Greg entered Sofia’s living room. After they couldn’t have dinner together last week, they had scheduled a new appointment. They were five minutes late because the security had checked Greg’s car very thorough, as it was a new and unknown car for them. The fact that they knew Sara by now, knew her name and that she was a friend of Sofia, didn’t help. The only way to get into the Fort without to wait was when they were in Sofia’s car.   
“Yes, everything is fine.” Gaelle answered with a smile. “Thanks for finding most of my jewelries.” With help of the boot print and a boot in the lab, Sara managed to find traces of the carpet under one sole of a boot. In the room of the owner of the boot, a man, who worked for over five years for Bubbles, they found almost all of the jewelries.   
“Thanks for leaving the man to the police.” Sara smirked.   
“I think your friend here is a little bit disappointed.” Bubbles laughed and looked at Greg, who flushed. “I heard, you like the story of the mobster of Las Vegas and see me as one of them.”  
“Well…I…” Greg stuttered.   
“I take it as a compliment. There some real great men, they built Vegas. Are you an expert of Vegas history?”  
“I’m not an expert, I like the stories.”  
“We should meet and exchange some stories. I heard you met Lois O’Neill and she gave you her book with an exclusive dedication.”  
Again Greg’s face got very red.   
“Yes.”  
“How was she? I met her only once, very briefly twenty years ago.”  
“She was…”  
Sara made the decision to have a look what Sofia was doing in the kitchen. She had barely opened the door when she had somebody grabbing her leg and holding on to it.   
“Sara!”  
“Hey Josh.” She took him on her arms. “Wow, you’re growing very fast and you get heavy. Very soon I’m too weak to lift you up. I need to go to the gym more often.”  
“Yes!” He hugged and kissed her. “Missed you.”  
“I missed you to.”  
“Did you miss me too?” Sofia asked amused. She had taken the meat out of the oven and watched how her son greeted Sara. Josh had asked the whole day how much longer he had to wait until she was there and until he and Greg could play with the slot cars again.   
“Of course.” Sara laughed.  
“You didn’t hug me, you didn’t take me on your arms, I didn’t get a kiss, I don’t believe that you missed me, Sara.” Sofia pouted with a smirk.   
“You poor thing.” Sara managed to hug Sofia with one arm, still holding on to Josh and kissed Sofia’s cheek. “That’s all I can offer. You’re slightly heavier than your son, I can’t carry you around.”  
“Two out of three ain’t bad.”  
“Exactly. Can I help you with anything?”  
“You can carry the meat over, I’ll get the potatoes and the vegetables. Josh will carry your tofu, he made sure, it’s really good.”  
“In that case it must be good.” Sara let Josh down and took the meat. “Come on, Josh, there are three people waiting for food. They are all hungry and I’m sure, you’re hungry too.”  
“No.”  
“Not? How come?”  
“I don’t like.”  
“You don’t like the food? You like potatoes.”  
“No vegetables.”  
“We can share some.”  
“No.”  
“If you don’t eat vegetables you won’t get dessert, son.” Sofia told him firmly. The old topic, Josh didn’t want anything healthy and she wanted him to eat his vegetables.   
“Mean!”  
“No, your mother isn’t mean. She’s like her own mo…ouch.” Sara held her shoulder.  
“Don’t slap Sara, mom!”  
“Sorry son, I know you’re not supposed to slap people, but Sara asked for it. She wanted it that way.”  
“No, she didn’t ask.”  
“Maybe you didn’t hear the words, I did. You wanted it that way, didn’t you Sara?”  
“No, Josh is right. I was honest. You’re not a good example for your son.”  
“Out of the kitchen, both of you. And take the food with you!”   
Sara grinned. Teasing Sofia was fun and Josh was always on her side, what made it even better.   
“Oh look, we get something nice to eat.” Gaelle said when they came into the living room.  
“Yes, I hope it’s perfect.”  
“I’m sure it is.”  
“Bubbles?” Josh sat next to Bubbles.   
“Yes Josh?”  
“Mom slapped Sara!”  
“Did she? Why?”  
“Don’t know.”  
“Because Sara was mean and cheeky, didn’t show respect and lied.” Sofia explained.   
“Really?”  
“Actually I tried to defend her, defend why she told Josh to eat vegetables.”  
“They are healthy, you need them to grow big and strong.” Bubbles told Josh.   
“Chocolate better.”  
“I know, the problem is, chocolate doesn’t give you power, it gives you fat and that takes away your power.”  
“Do you like veggies?”  
“Yes, I like them. And you know what? We take the mashed potatoes, make a little hole in it, fill it up with sauce, place some carrots and peas around then you can let the peas drown in the sauce and the carrots have to rescue them.”  
“Don’t teach the child to play with his food.” Gaelle told Bubbles off.   
“You don’t have to listen to Gaelle, as long as you eat your food, you can play with it. Come on, we build a Hoover Dam, what do you think? The meat can be the concrete dam on one side, the potatoes are the walls on the other sides.”  
“Sofia?” Gaelle looked to Sofia to get some help.  
“As long as Josh eats his food, that includes a certain amount of veggies, I’m fine. My mom told me too not to play with the food, I’m not like my mom!” The last sentence was clearly addressed to Sara, who grinned. It was so easy to tease Sofia, sometimes a little bit too easy. 

Part 6

Who would have thought that Sara and Sofia went on a holiday together? If anybody had told Sara this half a year ago, she had laughed her head off. And now here she was, in Los Angeles, to be more specific, she was in Silver Lake. They had made the decision to put their three days, two nights in Disney Land at the end of their trip, hadn’t told Josh about it yet. Sofia was sure, she could use the theme park at one point to make her son do things, he refused to do. Maybe it was a like blackmailing, but she did this only for his best. And she hated to admit, that her mother had thought the same, when she blackmailed little Sofia and – probably even more – the teenager Sofia. Somehow all children promised themselves that they would never be like their parents, but at the end, they ended up doing the same things. It was a little bit sad.   
Their motel was small, quiet and from their balcony they could see the water reservoir. If they looked out of the bathroom window, the other side of their room, they saw the Hollywood sign.   
“I’ve to say, you chose a really nice place for our first part of the trip.” Sofia complimented Sara.   
“Thanks. I thought it’s better for Josh to be at a quieter place and not somewhere on the Sunset Boulevard. There’s more entertainment for us, but we need to be here at nights anyway to make sure, Josh is fine.”  
“Yes, if we want to hit the clubs, we need to do that when we have a babysitter for him.”  
“We can do that in Vegas.”  
“I know somebody, who drove to L.A. to have a party weekend.”  
“It’s always difficult to catch a decent wave in Vegas.” Sara grinned. Yes, she did travel to L.A. to have some party time, but her main reason was to be at the beach and surf. For the rest, she didn’t have to leave Vegas. “I’m sorry they didn’t get my reservation right.” She had asked for a room for two adults and a child, two beds. What she meant were two beds for the adults and the motel gave them a king size bed and a small bed for Josh.   
“That’s alright, we’ll survive. Any plans for tonight? After I had no idea where we end and couldn’t plan anything.”  
“We’ve a lovely balcony, they had a sign downstairs that you can hire a small table barbecue, we can have a barbecue. It was a long drive, no need to have a stressful evening. And I don’t think Josh will make it to a restaurant and stay awake. Plus, he’ll be bored.”  
“Yes. There was a little shop down the street, we can have a walk there.”  
“Perfect. I get Josh.”  
“Yes, get MY son.” Sofia grinned.   
Sara stick her tongue out to Sofia and went into the room, where Josh laid on the bed. Softly she woke him up.   
“Time to wake up and take a little walk. Otherwise you can’t sleep tonight.”  
“Tired.”  
“I know. It will be better in a few minutes. We want to go to a shop and get some things for a barbecue tonight.”  
“Okay.” He held his arms up as a sign that Sara should lift him up.   
“No Josh, you’re too heavy, I can’t lift you up like this. You need to be a big and strong boy and get up yourself.”  
“Sara gym.”  
“I need to pump myself like Arnold Schwarzenegger to lift you up and that doesn’t look good. Come on, your mom is waiting.” Sara took his hand and pulled him off the bed.   
Sofia had emptied her backpack and they left the motel. Slowly they walked down Silver Lake Boulevard.  
“Dogs!” Josh stopped.   
“Yes, there are dogs. It’s a dog park.”  
“Watch.”  
“You want to watch the dogs?” Sofia looked at Sara.   
“You stay with your son, I go and get the groceries, the shop isn’t far from here. Anything special I have to buy?”  
“Chocolate!”  
“What my son means is, bring whatever you like, don’t forget the salad.”  
Josh made a grimace.   
“I won’t, I’m a vegetarian, I think of healthy food all the time. Take good care of your mom, Josh. Don’t let her run away or talk to strangers.”  
“Okay.”  
“And you, Sofia, take good car of my boy, I want him back happy.”  
“Don’t worry, I take care of MY son.”   
“Good.” Sara grinned. One day she had to fight Sofia for Josh, he too cute and Sara liked him too much. 

“The child is asleep, now it’s really time relax.” Sofia sat next to Sara on the balcony. She had brought Josh to bed, red him a little story and watched how her son fell asleep before she could finish the story.   
“He was tired since two hours.” Sara handed Sofia a beer.   
“Yes. But too excited to admit. There was the possibility that he misses something out here if he goes to bed.”  
“True. But he looks happy.”  
“I’m sure he is happy. He’s in Los Angeles, has his first real holidays and he is with his real mother and his want-to-be-mother.”  
“One day I’ll steal him.” Sara warned.  
“I’m afraid you will. It might be better if you tell you to stay away from my son, the problem is, he likes you too much, he likes to spend time with you, you make him happy and I don’t have the heart to tell him, he can’t see you anymore.”  
“Plus the fact, you’re happy that I like him and he likes me. It makes things easier for you.”  
“If he wouldn’t like you, I kicked you out of my life.”  
Sara cocked her head. “No.” She smiled. “No, Sofia. You like me, no matter what you try to pretend right now. You like me a lot.”  
“Evidence?”  
“You’re with me in Los Angeles.”  
“It was your idea, that means, you must like me too.” Sofia tried to turn tables on Sara.   
“I do like you, Sofia. A lot. That’s why I asked you. I don’t go away for a week with somebody I don’t like.”  
Sofia wanted to tease Sara if she was about to get sensible, but she couldn’t. She heard the serious tone in the brunette’s voice.   
“I’m really happy that we’re here and you’re right, I like you a lot.” She took Sara’s hand. “I guess I have to thank your car to get stuck in the sand.”  
“Yes. That was a lucky disaster. You know that Bubbles offered me a job?”  
“Really?”  
“Yes, I can work in the Fort if I like.”  
“What did you tell him?”  
“That he doesn’t need a CSI, I like my job and that – if I ever work for him – there’s no way that I agree on you as my boss.”  
“I’d like to give you orders.”  
“You’d enjoy that much too much. Forget it, that will never happen.”  
“What a pity. The best thing of this idea is, that if you would work for Bubbles, I could see you every day. And I knew, I never had to worry what you’re doing because I can trust you, whatever you do, you’ll do a perfect job. But you’re right, Bubbles doesn’t need a CSI. I hope he won’t have another burglar again and for the security is a cop better. We don’t really work with evidence in the Fort.”  
“That’s why I stay a CSI.”  
“And because you’re a CSI Bubbles isn’t allowed to show you how much he appreciated your work.”  
“No.”  
“A real pity. He had such a nice gift box for you, wanted to invite you to his house in France.”  
“Can you take gifts from other people?”  
“I get everything I want from my boss.”  
“That sounds like you’ve a very close relationship.”  
“We’ve a relationship built on trust, I think I told you that before.”  
“What does his wife say about the fact, that her husband asked you to join him in his bed?”  
“She says, if he tries that again, he won’t be a man anymore. When he tried to hit on me, they had a break in their relationship. They worked on it, got over it and now there are rules both have to stick to. And no, he isn’t Josh’s father.”  
“I didn’t think so.”  
“Sometimes I wish he was. At least then I don’t have to worry about his future anymore. Josh could go to the best college, could study wherever he wants, no matter in which country. A lot of things would be easier for him because we had the money.”  
“Money can help with things like university and college, but he’s a bright boy, he can get a scholarship.”  
“Yes, he is bright. And lazy. He won’t do more than he has to to get through the years. Like his mother.”  
“Don’t they say all the bad things come from the father?” Sara chuckled. At least that was what most mothers said.   
“It’s always easier to blame somebody else.” Sofia sighed and watched the moon for a few seconds , that was rising behind a mountain. “Do you want to hear about his father?”  
“Do you want to talk about him?”  
“There isn’t much I can tell you. I met him four years ago, we dated for a while, it wasn’t anything serious. He got a job offer, left Vegas, I have no idea where he is and when I found out I was pregnant, he was long gone. I didn’t want to run after him, didn’t want to make it look like I want his money. There’s no reason to have a father in his life, who doesn’t want to be his father.”  
“Probably you don’t want to hear this, but maybe he would be happy if knew about Josh.”  
“He isn’t a family man. He has a son, with his high school sweetheart and he hasn’t seen him in twenty years. At least at that time he hadn’t. They split soon after the birth of his son and he never wanted to see him. He sends money, said, that was the most expensive fun he ever had and that’s it. Not the best character. Unfortunately you find bad character too often in good looking bodies. I hope, Josh doesn’t have the character of his father.”  
“I think character isn’t everything. It depends on what he sees when he grows up. You teach him how to react and act responsible, you teach him to care for other people, that are things, that will build his character and not the DNA of his biological father. We are not what the DNA of our parents made us, we are, what we make out of yourselves.” It took Sara a long time until she realized that. She had for years feared to be like her mother, to have some kind of killer gene. Nowadays she knew, she was, what she made out of herself and not what her mother or father gave her before she was born. She was responsible for her life, her acts, not the DNA. She chose to be the woman she was and if that would change one day, it was, because she changed it.   
“I hope, he makes a good man out of himself and I hope, I can help him to be a good man.”  
“So far you did a great job.”  
“Thanks. Do you think it’s crazy not to tell his father about him?”  
“He made it clear, he isn’t interested in children, he left you, he never wanted a family. I think it’s better for you to live without him. It’s better for Josh to have a happy mother too. If you would be sad because his father doesn’t want him, he’ll feel bad twice. Once for being the son of a man, who doesn’t love him and second to be the reason why his mother is sad.”  
“One day he’ll ask for his dad.”  
“Yes he will.”  
“I don’t want to lie to him.”  
“I’m sure you thought of what to tell him.”  
“Yes and every time I think about it, I come up with another story I don’t like. I can’t say: Your father left before you were born. I can’t tell him, your father doesn’t know about you because your mother didn’t want to tell him. There is no good explanation for a little boy why he has no father.”  
“What will you do?”  
“Have a few more sleepless nights because of this and make something up when he asks me. Pray that this day will be in a far, far future and he’ll happy with as little explanation as possible. I know, that’s not the best idea, but at the moment it’s the only thing I can think of.”  
“I think, he believes Stephen is his father.”  
“Maybe. If he calls Steo ‘dad’, I need to talk to him.”  
“Yes.”  
“He would be a great father.”  
“Steo? Yes.”  
“Does he have family?”  
“No. Not of his own. And his parents don’t want to have anything to do with him.”  
“Why?”  
“Because a gay cowboy son isn’t what an old republican couple from Texas wants to have.”  
“We’re in a new millennium for a few years now and people still bother about something like sexual orientation, race and religion. I wonder when they realize, that things like that aren’t important. These things don’t make a character of a person. A person isn’t good, bad, sporty, successful or intelligent because of a certain, sex, race or religion.”  
“For many people it’s important and Steo is for his parents a disgusting, disgraceful and devilish sinner.”  
“I guess, they don’t know him.”  
“No, they only know what their priest tells them.”  
“Brainwashing.”  
“I’m not sure people like Steo’s parents have a brain. And if they do, they don’t use it anymore. What is a pity because God gave us a brain so we can use it. It’s for free, you don’t have to pay for it and it doesn’t hurt.”  
“No. It makes you sexy.”  
“You think?”  
“I can only speak for myself and I think, smart people are sexy.”  
“Like people with an IQ of over one-hundred and eighty?”  
“I don’t think it’s up to your IQ alone. You need to be emotional smart too to be really sexy. Somebody, who is attached to his books the whole day, doesn’t know anything more than his formulas, isn’t sexy. He’s dumb because he misses too many other great things.”  
“Who is in your eyes sexy?”  
“You want a name?”  
“Yes.”  
“Okay.” Sara was quiet for a while.   
“You don’t know a sexy person?” Sofia chuckled.   
“I do.”  
“Who?”  
“You know this person too.”  
“Who? Don’t tell me it’s Grissom. No doubt about his IQ, but I don’t put him high on the EQ. He’s too much in his science world.”  
“I’m not talking about Grissom.”  
“But?”  
“You think too far away.”  
“Too far? Like distance in miles?”  
“Yes.”  
“Somebody closer…Sara Sidle, are you very narcissistic and talk about yourself?”  
“Would I be wrong?” Sara grinned widely.  
“No, but narcissistic.”  
“Thanks for the compliment. Actually I was talking about you, Sofia.”  
“You think I’m sexy?”  
“If I define being sexy with IQ and EQ yes.”  
“But?”  
“I didn’t say but.”  
“It is a ‘but’ sentence. Something else comes after this nice part, I’m sure there’ll be something.”  
“In that case I’ve to take a few point of your smartness scale. The sentence ended there.”  
“Wow, thanks.”  
“Don’t get smug over it, will you?”  
“Me? Never!”  
“You? All the time.” Sara got up, stroke Sofia’s arm shortly. “I’ll go to bed. Tomorrow will be an exciting day at the beach.”  
“Yes. I’ll leave the bathroom to you and follow you later.”  
“Left or right side of the bed?”  
“Doesn’t matter, I sleep everywhere.”  
“I won’t comment that.” Sara jumped to avoid Sofia’s hand, that slapped at the brunette. Sara had been so nice to her but she had to end it with a mean comment. 

There was the low sound of a TV, that woke Sara up. Before she opened her eyes, she realized, she had Sofia in her arms. Instead of pulling back, what her first intention was, she held on to the blonde and closed her eyes. It was comfortable, it felt good, there was no reason change anything about her position.   
A few minutes later she felt how Sofia started to wake up and Sara knew exactly when the blonde realized where she was. She got rigid for a second to relax right away.   
“Good morning.” Sara said with a smile.   
“Morning.” Sofia turned without leaving Sara’s arms. “Are awake for a long time?”  
“Only a few minutes. Somebody else is the early riser today.”  
“Yes.” Sofia’s eyes searched for her son, who was watching ‘The Smurfs’ and had no ear for his mother’s and Sara’s conversation. “Good morning Josh, don’t you want to give your mom a kiss?”  
Josh turned his attention to his mother. “You were asleep.”  
“Yes, now I’m awake. Come here, baby.”  
“No baby.” But he got up, went to his mother, climbed into the bed and got into her arms.   
“That’s better, now you’re in your mom’s arms.”  
“And you are in Sara’s arms.”  
“Yes I am. She caught and I can’t get away. You have to free me later.”  
“One word and I let you go, Sofia.” Sara laughed. “You can go any second and I take Josh in my arms.”  
“My son stays in my arms.”  
“Maybe you should let him make his own decision. Josh, do you want to be in my arms?”  
“Both?” Josh got out of Sofia’s arms, climbed over his mother to slip between her and Sara.   
“You’re a little heartbreaker.” Sara stroke his cheek softly. “Did you sleep good?”  
“Yes.”  
“Very good. You need to be fit, we’ll go to the beach today. I’ve a body board, you start your career as a surfer today.”  
“What is a body board?”  
“I’ll show you and I’ll teach you how to use it.”   
“Who asks the mother if she likes the idea?”  
“I thought the mother helps me. One on each side to make sure, there won’t be a big wave that throws the new surfer off his feet.”  
“Sounds better.” Sofia grinned. “The new surfer needs a breakfast first.”  
“And we need to pack some snacks. The sun is quite hot, we can have lunch there. It’s not good for Josh and us to be in the midday sun. Two hours are enough, we can go back later in the afternoon.”  
“Yes. I’m sure there’s something else to do, something inside. At the moment I’d fancy a nice movie.”  
“Why not? We’ll have a look what’s on. What do you think, Josh? First we have a swim, then lunch and after it we’ll go to the movies?”  
“Yes!”   
“I knew we’ll find something we’ll agree on.” Sofia kissed her son. So far their holidays were very relaxed and just perfect. 

“Boy under!” Sara grabbed Josh’s lifejacket and pulled him out of the wave, that hit the boy and threw him down his body board.   
“Bloody wave.” Josh cursed and looked apologetic at Sara.  
“I won’t tell your mom, you’re right. But don’t do it again, she’s on her way back to us.” Sofia had left them alone to get her camera and take some photos of Josh and his first day at the ocean.   
“Thanks.”  
“You know, if you want to go on with water sport, you’ve to get used to waves that will knock you over. It happens to me too. You wait for a wave, your eyes are away for a second and from somewhere a wave appears and throws you off the board.”  
“I saw that, Josh got caught by a wave.” Sofia checked on her son.  
“Yes. Nothing big, he’ll try it again.” Sara gave the board to Josh and went a few steps back into the ocean with him. The area of the beach where they were the water was shallow and Josh could practice without having his mother behind him all the time, worried to death that her son might drown.   
“Okay, get in position, Josh, I’ll take a photo of you.” Sofia got down on her knees. Her camera was waterproof and if she dropped it into the sand, it wasn’t a problem either.   
Sara helped Josh on the board and when a little wave came, she pushed the board and the boy towards Sofia and the beach.   
“Wahoo!”   
“You’re boarding, Josh.” Sofia caught him.   
“Yes! Again!”   
“Go back to Sara.”  
Josh took the board and went back to Sara to repeat his ride on the wave. After the fifth time Sara and Sofia changed position, so that Sara could take some photos of Sofia and Josh.   
“Alright, I think it’s time to leave the water and go back to the motel. Your skin is slightly red, Josh. If we stay here, you’ll get burnt and can’t go out anymore.” Sara took the board.   
“Mom has to try boarding too.”  
“I’ll try it later, Josh. Sara is right, you need to get into the shade. Come on, we’ll go back to the ocean.”  
It was obvious that Josh wasn’t happy with this decision. He wanted to stay, he wanted to play in the water.   
They packed their things and drove back to the motel, had a shower and something to eat.   
“And now we’ll watch a movie?” Sofia suggested.   
“Maybe they’ve something at the reception.”  
“We can go to a cinema.”  
“We two yes, Josh can’t.” Sara pointed to Josh, who was sound asleep on his bed. The two hours in the water had tired him out.   
“Our big boy needs a break. I think we’ll let him sleep for an hour and go after that to the movies.”  
“Yes. That gives us a little time for a time out too.” Sofia took her alcohol free cocktail and went onto the balcony. “I could get used to a life like this. Sleep until eight, breakfast, two hours at the beach, lunch, a nap, the movies, dinner, a beer on the balcony while I watch the sunset.”  
“All you need is a rich husband.”  
“There is the problem why I’ll never have a life like this for more than one week. Maybe I should send you with Josh to the movies while I walk through Beverly Hills and Hollywood to find a rich man. Unfortunately I need to go shopping first, I don’t have anything sexy with me. You don’t pack sexy clothes when you go on holidays with your son. You pack casual and sensible things.”  
“Julia Roberts found a lot of clothes on the Rodeo Drive, you’ll find something too.” Sara said and sat next to Sofia.   
“Julia Roberts had a rich man who gave her the money for the clothes. I need to find cheap clothes, that are sexy and look expensive.”  
“It doesn’t matter what you wear, Sofia, you are sexy. If the men don’t see that, they’re blind and stupid and you shouldn’t waste yourself on a blind a stupid man.”  
“Don’t you miss to have a man in your life? Or a woman? Any kind of relationship.”  
“Do I look like I miss something? Do I look unhappy?”  
“No.” Sofia said after she watched for a few seconds. “Actually it’s the opposite. You look happy, relaxed, settled.”  
“Good. That’s what I am. I am happy. I’ve a job I like, I’ve great colleagues and right now I’m on holidays with a real good friend and a cute child. To make it complete. I woke up with this good friend in my arms, who is sexy and smart. Unfortunately she forgets these things all the time because she forces herself to be something, she isn’t and doesn’t see, that she’s perfect without the things society tells you you need.”  
“Don’t be so nice to me.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because I can’t feel bad and drown in pity when you tell me good things.”  
“Perfect, that’s exactly what I want.” Sara took Sofia’s hand. “Don’t put pressure on yourself, Sofia, there’s no reason to do so. You’ll find somebody who loves you and Josh, I’ve no doubts about that. Why don’t you stop looking for somebody and let somebody find you.”  
“I’ve been waiting for somebody special for three years.”  
“And all you ended up was finding me in the desert. You’re right, that was a waste of three years.”  
“No stupid.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms. “It’s a shame that we had to be separated for three years until we became friends, but it’s one of the good things that happened to me in the last three years. Better than any guy because you love my son, you don’t play with out feelings and you want to spend time with both of us. I can rely on you and…it’s nice to wake up in your arms.” Sofia said the last words slowly, like she had to realize them while she said them.   
“See your life isn’t that bad. Let’s have a little nap and wake up the baby. Otherwise he won’t go to bed tonight.”  
“All we need to do is send him back into the water for two hours and he’ll be asleep again.” Sofia closed her eyes. Talking about sleep, she didn’t mind half an hour for herself neither. 

Sara whistled a little tone while she prepared the rest of the dinner. She had send Josh and Sofia out to get their breakfast for the next day and Josh wanted to have a look at the dog park again. He had fell in love with a dog yesterday and the owner had told him, he was there every day at the same time.  
Instead of going with her friend and her son, Sara stayed in the motel, had a little chat with the owners, an elderly couple, called Greg to hear what he was doing and cooked their dinner. Pasta, scrambled eggs and spinach. She knew, Josh – even if he had never tried it - hated spinach and it was her goal to make him eat the so hated vegetables. Everything was cooked and she was done with grating the cheese when Sofia and Josh came back. Both carried a bag in their hands, Josh a small one, Sofia a bigger one.   
“We’re hungry.” Sofia greeted her.   
“Me too. Dinner is ready.”  
“Perfect. Josh chose breakfast for tomorrow, we’ll all eat chocolate flakes with milk.”  
“How comes?” Sara grinned. Usually Sofia tried to talk Josh in something else than chocolate flakes.   
“I lost a bet – again.”  
“Which one.”  
“That the dog he liked so much yesterday, don’t listen to him. My son told the dog to lay down and the dog laid. Now we need to eat chocolate.”  
“That’s fine with me. We’ve a healthy dinner.”  
“What did you cook?”  
“Pasta, scrambled eggs and spinach.”  
“Yuck!” Josh comment. “Don’t eat.”  
“Wait until you see it, Josh.” As far as Sara knew, Josh knew spinach as leaves, she had chopped it, so that it looked like it was mashed.   
“What’s that?” He asked when she put the spinach on the table.   
“That’s the spinach.”  
“Doesn’t look like it.”  
“I chopped it and made a nice sauce with it. When you put it on your pasta and add some cheese on top, it’s really nice.”  
“Spinach is yuck.”  
“Try it.”  
“No.”  
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Sara put some pasta, spinach and cheese on her fork and held it in front of his mouth. “If you try it, we’ll watch a Disney movie tonight. If you like it and eat a plate with it, we’ll go to Disney Land on Friday.”  
“Really?” He looked at his mother for approval.   
Sofia had to hide her smile. That was a good way to make her son eat healthy things. “Yes.”  
“Okay.” He tried the spinach pasta cheese mix.   
“And?”  
“I eat a plate.”  
“Perfect.” Sara smirked and prepared a plate for him.   
“And we really go to Pluto?”  
“Yes.”  
“Wahoo!” He jumped up and hugged first Sara and then his mother. “Pluto!”   
“And if your mother agrees and you’ll eat something healthy, I’ve a nice idea what we can do tomorrow.”   
“What?” Asked Sofia and Josh at the same time.  
“I talked to the owner of the motel if they can recommend something for the next days, something that we all will enjoy. They told me about a circus project. Do you like circus, Josh?”  
“Yes.”  
“He had been a few times to the free shows in Circus Circus. I promise I didn’t talk him into it, he likes clowns and animals.”  
“There’s a circus you can’t not only watch the show, you can be a part of the show. It’s special for children and they get involved in the show. We can go to the ocean in the morning and after that we can go to the circus.”  
“Yes!”  
“Sofia?”  
“I’m happy with that.” Sofia watched amazed how her son ate one spoon after the other of the chopped spinach, no signs of disgust. Somehow she doubted it was only the thought of the trip to Disney Land, that made Josh eat the spinach.   
When they had finished their dinner, Sofia gave her cell phone to Josh to call Stephen. Like most children, Josh loved the phone and he loved to make long phone calls. She had promised Stephen to call once a day to let him know what they were doing.   
“What did you do with the spinach that he ate it?”  
“I chopped it and made sauce for it. Melted butter, flour, milk and salt and pepper. Gives it a smooth taste and as you could see, makes that your son eats spinach.”  
“I have to remember that.”  
“Maybe it’s the blackmailing too. Disney Land is a great power, that pulls him in and makes him do a lot of things.”  
“Yes. He gets spoiled in this week. Disney Land, tomorrow back to the ocean and the to the circus. Sara, you don’t have to offer Josh a program he enjoys. This is your holiday too, you shouldn’t forget to do things, you want to do.”  
“I do the whole day what I want to do. I want to spend time with you and Josh, want to be at the ocean, see something of L.A. that isn’t crowded and experience some new things. Disney Land is a place I wanted to go to when I was a child, this week I can go there. Don’t worry, I don’t do things, I don’t want to do.”  
“Okay.”  
“And don’t forget, Sofia, it’s also your holiday. If you want to do something special, say it and we can do it.”  
“I want to have a good time with you, I want Josh to be happy and that’s all. I like the beach, I like sitting here with you watching the sunset and I’ll enjoy Disney Land to. Will you ride a roller coaster with me?”  
“If we find a good place for Josh while we’re on the roller coaster, yes. Otherwise you’ve to ride it alone while I stay with Josh.”  
Sofia smiled and hugged Sara. “You’re an amazing woman, Sara Sidle.”  
“Why?” Sara was confused for a second. What did she do? What did she say? She couldn’t remember anything special.   
“From the point of view as Josh’s mother because you do everything to make him happy and do everything to make sure he’s fine. From the point of view as a friend, because you’re a wonderful friend, somebody to rely on, somebody to trust.”  
“Thanks. It’s all very egoistic: I feel good when the two of you are happy. So I need to do everything that’s possible to make you happy.”  
“Very narcissistic, Sara.” Sofia chuckled and placed her head on Sara’s shoulder.   
“Yes, sorry.” Sara stroke over Sofia’s back. She was sure in this case it wasn’t that bad that she was narcissistic and egoistic. She could be forgiven for it. For once.

They had another two hours in the water the next morning, Josh was most times on the body board, Sofia tried her luck a few times and Sara was most times busy taking photos and making sure, Josh was safe. After a small lunch in a café in Venice on the famous boardwalk they drove to the circus.   
“I’ll get the tickets.” Sofia offered.   
“You don’t have to, I ordered our tickets. All we have to do is collect them. This way I was sure, we get a ticket for today.” Sara gave Josh his ice cream, took his hand and followed Sofia to the entry.   
“Hi, we ordered tickets online, the name is Sidle.”   
The man gave them three tickets and sent them in. They passed some colorful trailer and entered the middle sized big top.   
“Where do we sit?” Sofia asked.  
“First row, seats eleven to thirteen.”  
“First row? You don’t like to buy any kind of tickets, you take the best ones, don’t you?”  
“It’s our holiday, we need to treat ourselves good. Live for the moment, enjoy your life now, you don’t know how much time you’ve left. If you tell yourself, you’ll treat yourself good later, later might be too late. So yes, I got us the best tickets I could. Popcorn?”  
“Yes.”  
“You’ve got ice cream, Josh.” Sofia told her son off. “That’s enough for the moment. Go to our seats with Sara, I’ll get us something to drink.”  
“Coke?”  
“No, you’re too young for coke.”  
“Juice is better than coke.” Sara walked Josh to their seats. A few artists were already in the arena, practicing with a high wire. Josh’s eyes were on the man, who walked over the high wire without hesitation. It was around five yards high and he had to walk around twice the distance to get from one point to the other.   
“You want to try that too, young man?” A man, who looked like ringmaster sat in front of them.   
Josh only nodded.   
“If your mommy agrees, you can try it.” He looked at Sara.  
“I’m not his mother, his mother will be back any minute. How does it work to let him on the high wire? I assume it’s safe.”  
“Of course it is. This circus is especially for kids and we want them to join us, be the star and safety is the most important part of the show. You see the rope above the high wire?”  
“Yes.”  
“We’ll get the young man – what is your name?” He looked at Josh.  
“Josh.”  
“That’s a lovely name. I’m Diego, by the way. We get Josh into a safety belt, like you wear when you climb steep cliffs, that will be connected to a rope and a karabiner. The karabiner is connected to the higher rope, the high wire is solid, it doesn’t shake, all he has to do is put one foot in front of the other. If he slips, he won’t fall because the rope that holds him, isn’t flexible. He’ll end up with his feet an inch below the high wire, can move on like nothing had happened. It’s absolutely safe.”  
“I think it sounds like a great adventure.”   
“We can give him the safety belt, put it on and when his mother agrees, we’ll get him up and he can be an artist.”  
“Want!”  
“Okay, get your safety belt, I’ll talk to your mother.” Sara lifted Josh up, took the rest of his ice cream and watched how he went with the ringmaster to another artist to get his safety belt. Because he was busy, she made the decision, she could finish his ice cream, her eyes always on Josh. A lot people were in the big top, the show was bout to start. There were a few other kids with artists, getting prepared for the high wire and probably other things.   
“Where’s Josh?” Sofia came with three soda cans.”  
“In the arena, he’ll be a part of the show.”  
“Really?” Sofia found her son, smiled until she realized, she wore a safety belt. “What is he about to do?”  
“He’ll be on the high wire – if you agree. The ringmaster needs your approval.”  
“No way! That’s too dangerous!”  
“It sounded quite safe.” Sara explained to Sofia what Josh had to do and what happened, if he made a wrong step.   
“You think it’s safe?”  
“He can’t fall.”  
“My baby will be five yards high.”  
“Yes.”  
“Can I stand under the high wire and catch him?”  
“No. He won’t fall.”  
“I’ll die of a heart attack as soon as he’s up there.”  
Sara smiled and petted Sofia’s shoulder. “I heard your approval.”  
“Yes. If anything happens, the tiniest thing, I’ll kill you with my bare hands, Sara.”  
“No need, I’ll kill myself.”  
Sofia sighed. She didn’t want to be a spoilsport, but she wasn’t happy with Josh on the high wire. When he and ringmaster came to her a minute later to get the final approval, she tried to look not too worried. After a last kiss from his mother, Josh vanished behind the curtain, the show was about to begin.   
Nervously Sofia slid on her seat, not paying any attention to the welcoming words of the ringmaster. He told them briefly about the circus, that some children would be join the artist and he hoped, that everybody had a great time.   
Then the curtain fell and Josh walked into the arena. Together with two artists and two other children, also wearing the safety belts.   
“We’ve three brave young artists here and they’ll walk over the high wire.” The ringmaster announced.   
While the first artist climbed up a small ladder, the second one connected the safety belt of the first child to a rope. When the first artist was on a small platform, he held the rope and child started to climb the ladder too. As soon as the girl was up on the platform the artist took another rope, that was connected with the rope above them, connected her safety belt to this rope and sent the other rope down.   
Now was Josh’s time. He got secured and started to climb the ladder. Sara took Sofia’s hand, that was cold and wet. Her friend was nervous and scared. Josh got secured on the platform, the third child climbed up while the second artist got onto the other platform.   
When all three children were on the platform, the ringmaster spoke again.  
“After our brave artists climbed the platform they’ll walk over to the platform. Five yards high, ten yards from one platform to the other. Only talented artists and brave heroes and heroines can do this. Let’s hear it for Judy, who will start.”  
Applause rose and the girl started to walk the high wire. She slipped a few times, but each time she could go on like nothing had happened. When she was on the other side, she got her applause and it was time for Josh to follow her.   
Sofia swallowed. Her boy. There he was, brave, not showing any fear. Instead he was concentrated on the high wire and made his first step. Like Sara had promised, the wire didn’t shake, Josh could walk it like he was on a thin solid line. He slipped the first time after four steps, Sofia’s heart stopped beating for a second. She saw him falling, she saw him on the ground, injured, blood everywhere. Then she realized, all that had happened was, that he stopped for a second, but his foot back on the rope and walked on. It wasn’t possible for her to see if he dropped an inch when he slipped, she only noticed it because he needed a second or two to get back on the high wire and when he arrived on the other side, she was able to breathe again.   
“I haven’t seen him that proud.” Sara whispered while she applauded.  
“He’s a star.”  
“Yes he is.”   
“And his mother died a thousand deaths.”  
“Death becomes her.”  
“I need a shot glass now.”  
“You’ll get one later, detective.”  
“Thanks.”   
Five minutes later Josh was back with them, a wide grin on his face and pride in his voice when he told them again and again about his experience.   
He was stopped when an artist, who was in the arena with half a dozen of gooses, and asked him, if he wanted to help him with the goose. Of course Josh wanted and so Sofia found her son a minute later in the arena, giving orders to the gooses to make little tricks. They had to jump on a box, one was hiding in it, a second one closed the lit. Another goose walked a yard on a ball, one brought him a red handkerchief. With a goose feather and red cheeks he came back to them.   
His last return to the arena was, when he together with all children, who were seated in the front row, got called into the arena to have a ride on the ponies. Two children on each pony, an artist next to them, they circled the arena three times and got sent back to their parents.   
“Popcorn?” Sara asked when they left the big top.   
“We can take some popcorn for later.” Sofia agreed.   
“Alright, I’ll get some for us.”  
“And I take Josh to the calf, he wanted a photo of it.”  
“I’ll meet you at the car in two minutes.”  
“Don’t get lost or stuck.”  
“Never.” Sara understood the hint Sofia gave her. 

“Now tell me the truth, it wasn’t a coincidence, that Josh was allowed to do all these things.” Sofia handed Sara a glass of whiskey. Josh was in bed and they had taken some potato chips and a bottle of whiskey out to the balcony.   
“No.” Sara confested.   
“How did you do that?”  
“Children, who are seated in the front row, are allowed to join the show. That was the reason why I wanted us to be there, I wanted Josh involved.”  
“I’m sure these seats were slightly more expensive than all the others.”  
“Did you not listen when I told you this afternoon, it’s important to live now? Don’t worry about money, you’ll be back in the Fort in a few days, work the whole day, don’t have time to spend money, you can save up then.”  
“I should write you a check for this holiday.”  
“No you shouldn’t. You should simply enjoy our week and stop wasting your time on senseless thoughts like that.” Sara sipped on her whiskey and like a little miracle a CD appeared in her hands. With a smile she handed it over to Sofia.  
“What’s that?”  
“That’s Josh the great artist, a new movie, came in today. I thought you might like it.”  
“There’s a movie about Josh?” Sofia was speechless.   
“Yes. They film the children, you are involved to have a lovely souvenir for later. We have some photos, but this is better. Plus we can always make photos of the film and print them.”  
“You’re plain crazy.” Sofia hugged Sara and kissed her cheek. “You’re the best. I was so mad with myself that I worried the whole time and didn’t take enough photos or a movie. Now we have a movie. Did you watch it?”  
“No, I don’t have my laptop with me, but we should be able to watch it on the DVD player in the room.”  
“Yes. Tomorrow when Josh is awake. He’ll love it. I think, when we’re back in Vegas, he’ll pack his things and moves in with you.”  
“I doubt that. He loves his mother.”  
“You spoil him.”  
“One word of you and I won’t do it anymore.”  
“You’ll never hear this word, it makes him happy and you don’t spoil him with senseless things like a heaps of chocolate, computer games or things like that.”  
“Good to know.” Sara pulled Sofia on her lap. “I don’t want to do anything you don’t want, Sofia.”  
“I’ll tell you before you cross a line. But I’m sure, you know exactly what’s good and what’s not.”  
“I hope so too.” Sara made a little pause. “Are you happy, Sofia?”  
“Yes. Why?”  
“Because you thought a lot of finding a man the last days, weeks. If you want, I can stay here and you can go out, you never know, maybe you meet somebody.”  
“No, I prefer to stay with you. Why do I need a man when I’ve got you?”  
“For the obvious thing, for Josh to be a father, to be there for you, to hold you?”  
“I made the decision sex is overrated, Josh doesn’t need a father, he has everything he needs, there are people, who are there for me and right now, you hold me. Sounds to me like everything is alright.”  
“You changed your mind a bit.”  
“Yes. I’m sure there’s a saying, that you’re happier when you stop hunting things, you don’t get. There’ll be a reason why you don’t get these things, I’m sure, if they are important, I had them.”  
“Okay.” Sara chuckled. That was a point of view that made it unnecessary to fight for anything because you weren’t suppose to have whatever you desired. Not her point of view, she was sure, there was a reason why she fought for certain things. And when she didn’t get those things, she didn’t fight enough. 

It was the third morning in a row that Sara woke up and Sofia in her arms. The TV was off, so she assumed Josh was still asleep. A short look at the clock told her, it was a little after seven. Probably Josh was too tired after his exciting day at the beach and in the circus. He was an artist now. The tickets had been very expensive, but when she watched him, she knew, they were worth every cent. He had been so happy.   
So far they didn’t have any plans for today, a breakfast, some time at the beach and after that they needed a plan. Sara wasn’t a big fan of tourist stuff, but she fancied a little stroll in the Hollywood hills. Maybe a little stop at the Hollywood sign.   
“What are you thinking?”   
Sofia’s voice got Sara out of her thoughts.   
“I thought of what we can do today.”  
“Any ideas?”  
“Beach and Hollywood hills? Take some photos of the famous sign, maybe a picnic up there, the view should be great. I don’t know. What do you think?”  
“I think it sounds good. Or we’ll stay in bed.”  
“I don’t believe your son will like this idea.”  
“Maybe not. He’s still asleep, yesterday tired him out.”  
“Looks like.”  
“Where do you spend your time when you’re in L.A.?”  
“I’m not that often here. Don’t forget, I’m a workaholic.”  
“Alright, what did you the last time you were here? Beside surfing and clubbing?”  
“Nothing.”  
“You came all the way for the waves and the babes?”  
“Great waves and a sexy blonde.”  
“Right, she was sexy. Was she worth the trip?”  
“What kind of question is that? The main reason for my trip here were the waves. I can get laid in Vegas too.”  
“So she wasn’t worth the trip.”  
“I prefer the blonde I’ve with me now.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why?”  
“Because she’s sexy and smart.”  
“You don’t really think I’m sexy.”  
“What makes you think I don’t?” Sara felt something like nervousness. What kind of game was Sofia playing? Was she playing? Did she have any special intentions? Did she know, she made Sara nervous?   
“I don’t see any evidence that you do.”  
“Evidence? Like what?”  
“Don’t know.”  
“When you don’t know, how do you know it’s not there?”  
“I’d see it when it’s there.”  
“You sound a little bit disappointed, Sofia.” If Sofia tried to play her, she could play this game too.   
“Doesn’t everybody wants to be attractive for other people?”  
“I only want to be attractive to people, who I think are attractive.”  
“Do you?”  
“Yes. I don’t want anybody think of me I don’t like. I don’t want anybody to hit on me, who isn’t my type. Do you?”  
“No, too much trouble.”  
“What means, if you want to have evidence that I think you’re sexy, you are attracted to me, Sofia. You want me to be interested in you.”  
“These are your words, Sara. Only words. Words are no evidence.”   
Sara looked at Sofia, looked into her eyes for any evidence of tease. They didn’t look like Sofia was playing with her. Sara had the strange feeling, she was slipping into something, she wasn’t sure, was a good thing. It was like she was on a tightrope walk, one step away from the save haven but if she made her step in the wrong direction, she fell and there was no safety belt, no rope and no net that could break her fall. The problem was, she couldn’t just stay where she was, she had to make a step. Backwards or forwards.   
She remembered a part of her conversation with Sofia yesterday. That the life was short and she should do the things, she wanted to do. Now and not later because later could be too late. And she knew, most times she regretted things, she didn’t do and not the things, she had done. It was easier to make up for something she did do than for something she didn’t do.   
Without any more words Sara leant forward, her lips found Sofia’s lips and she kissed the blonde. First it was suppose to be nothing more than a short kiss, something that was over within a second. The problem was, as soon as Sara felt Sofia’s lips, she didn’t want to pull back, she wanted to feel these lips more. Longer. Instead of stopping, she deepened the kiss, scared she had destroyed a friendship, that was very important to her, but unable to stop. It seemed to be impossible to let go of Sofia’s lips. So soft. So delicious. So…her kiss was responded. Yes, Sofia responded her kiss!   
“Got your evidence?” Sara asked with a smirk when they had to break the kiss to breathe.   
“Got only words again, Sara?” Sofia turned the table. A question, Sara was more than willing to answer. Without words. Who needed words when there were those wonderful lips? Why talk when you can kiss?   
“Mom, why do you kiss Sara?”   
None of them had heard how Josh woke up and left his bed. Now he stood in front of their bed, watching them.   
“Good morning, Josh.” Sofia turned to face her son, still in Sara’s arms.   
Josh shifted his attention to Sara. “Why do you kiss mom?”  
“Because I really like your mom.” Sara pushed Sofia’s hand gently.   
“But you’re a girl.”  
“Yes I am. Is that a problem?”  
“Girls kiss boys.”  
“Not all girls. Some girls prefer to kiss girls like some boys prefer to kiss boys. It’s not important who you kiss, it’s important that you like this person and that the other one likes you too.”  
Josh looked at his mother in Sara’s arms and thought about what he had heard. He had never seen how a woman kissed another woman in TV. They always kissed men. This was something new. Plus the fact he had never seen his mother kiss anybody.   
“Mom, do you like Sara?”  
“Yes I do. And I hope, it’s alright for you that I like her.”  
He looked at both again, still busy thinking. “I like her too. And you.”  
“We both love you too, Josh.” Sara said.  
“Come here, son.” Sofia lifted the blanket to let Josh climb under it. She got him in her arms and put him between her and Sara. “You know that a lot of adults have another adult in their life to hold, to kiss, to be with, don’t you?”  
“Like Bubbles and Gaelle?”  
“Yes, exactly. They don’t want to be with anybody else, that’s why they got married, to be with the one they love.”  
“When you marry Sara, will you leave me?” She could hear fear in his voice and her heart broke. That was the wrong explanation, she didn’t want him to think something like that.   
“Josh, I’ll never leave you. You’re my son, I love you more than my own life. It’s like…your grandparents. They are married, they love each other, but they also love me. And they love you.”  
“There are two kinds of love, Josh.” Sara tried to help Sofia out. She took the left hand of the boy and held it. “The one kind is the kind of love you feel for your children, your family, your friends. I’d do everything for them, you love them with all your heart. And then there’s the kind of love you have for your lover. Well, it’s the same love, but you show it in another way. You hug your family, friends, you kiss them on their cheeks, you hold them, be there for them. But you kiss your lover on the mouth. It’s the way lovers show each other that they’re in love. Your mom loves you more than anybody else in the world, she’ll never leave you. Nobody will ever be as important to her as you are, okay?”  
He nodded, not sure if he understood.   
“And I love you too, Josh. I want to be there for you too.”  
“Will I have two moms?”  
“You’ve got one mom, your mother. You don’t need a second mom, the one you have is the best you can have. I won’t be your mom, I’ll be your friend.”  
“Like Steo?”  
“Yes, like Steo.”  
He looked at both. It was new, it was kind of strange. But his mother had him in his arms and had told him, she’d always be there and loved him. Maybe it wasn’t bad that she kissed Sara. He needed to think about it. 

It was like the three days before but so different. Every time Sara’s eyes met Sofia’s, they turned to a soft brown and she had a little smile on her face. She had kissed Sofia. It felt so good. Sara had no idea since when exactly she wanted to do this, now she was sure, she wanted it for a while. She had thought why she wanted to spend all these times with Sofia, why she didn’t want to stay home alone, why she made the suggestion to go on holiday together. Her subconscious had made her do these things.   
“Look out, the next Kelly Slater will catch the next wave!” Sofia called out for her and sent Josh with the board to Sara, who was around five yards away. Wasn’t she beautiful? In her black bikini and the long blonde hair. Sara watched how a few men had tried to get Sofia’s attention the last days. There had been this strange feeling in her stomach, she knew now, had been jealousy. She didn’t want these men around Sofia, she didn’t want them to talk to her and more important, she didn’t want Sofia to be interested in them. When she had offered her to go out to meet somebody, it was a way to find out, if Sofia was looking for somebody or if she was interested in Sara. There had been no evidence that the blonde had any intentions to be more than Sara’s friend, she had complained about the fact, that she didn’t have sex in a long time, that she wanted a relationship and that she wanted these things with a man. Nevertheless, Sara had kissed her. But Sofia had demanded some evidence, that Sara liked her and she wasn’t willing to accept words. That was why Sara had to do something in spite of herself and kiss Sofia. And because she knew, if she didn’t do it here in Los Angeles, she’d never do it. She needed…something knocked her off her feet and she vanished under a wave with her head.   
A second later she was on the surface, coughing.   
“Are you alright?” Sofia was on her way to Sara.   
“Yeah.” Sara got her balance back. Josh and the body board next to her. It had been the board, that knocked Sara off her feet. She was so deep in her thoughts, she didn’t realize, the boy was in front of her.   
“Sorry Josh, I was dreaming.”  
“You need to be awake, Sara.”  
“I know.”   
“Lucky you it was Josh with the board. It could have been me or a shark. In both cases you’d be death now.”  
“You won’t kill me, Sofia. And here are no sharks. I’ll be alert now.”  
“Good. We don’t want to take you home bruised…talking about take you home. Josh, you need to stop, I can see your face is red.”  
“No!”  
“You need at least a break. If you want, we can stay on the beach, but you need to leave the sun for a while.”  
“Want to surf.”  
“After a little break, Josh.” Sara took the board. “If you get burnt, you need to stay out of the water for at least a whole day. And you need to be careful when we’re at Disney Land. You don’t want to stay in the hotel room when we there, do you?”  
“No.”  
“See. Let’s get out of the water, we’ll go over to the little ice café, have some ice cream, there’s a playground in the shade, you can play there and after that we can decide if we want to stay here or do anything else.”  
“Circus?”  
“No, we can’t go to the circus again. Your mom and me will think about something. But first ice cream?”  
“Yes.”   
“Perfect.” Sara took his hand and guided him out of the water.   
“I didn’t know politics are your strength.” Sofia whispered into Sara’s ear when they walked to their beach towels.   
“I’m full of surprises.” Sara grinned. She could do politics if she had to and if she saw any sense in it. In this case it was very important to get Josh out of the water to give his skin a little break of the sun. And every argument, that included Disney Land, was a good one.

They didn’t spend the afternoon on the beach, Sofia had found in her guide something, that was interesting for all of them: the children museum. An interactive museum where children could play, learn, imagine and explore. Was he an artist the day yesterday, today he was a pilot and flew to Mexico, was a movie star and composed his own song.   
“It’s seven o’clock and my son wants to go to bed, it’s a little miracle.” Sofia leant on the frame of the balcony door. Sara sat on a chair outside, reading a short article.   
“Maybe because he’s so busy all day.”  
“Yes. He’s busy with keeping us busy.” She went on the balcony, a little bit unsure what to do. Since the kisses in the morning, they had barely touched each other.   
“We can make it complicated or we act naturally, Sofia.” Sara felt the tensions of her friend. Girlfriend?   
“I don’t want it complicated.”  
“What do you want?”  
“No complications.” Sofia sighed helpless.   
“Do you want that we go on like it was until yesterday?” Sara wasn’t sure if she could do it, but if that was, what Sofia wanted, what made her feel comfortable, she’d try it.   
“No. But I need to get used to it.”  
“To kiss me? To kiss a woman?”  
“To kiss anybody at all. Like I said, the last real relationship was when I was with Josh’s…a long time ago.”  
“What can I do to make it easier for you? Make you feel more comfortable?”  
“I don’t know…don’t push me, please and don’t be mad or sad when I act stupid – like I do right now.”   
Sara smiled a bit. “I’ll forgive you your foolishness when you hug me at one point tonight.”  
“One point isn’t a good time, now is better.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and hugged her. “I’m sorry when I make things complicated.”  
“Like you said, you need to get used to it again and you want to make it easy for Josh.”  
“Yes. I’m not sure if he likes the fact that I kissed you.”  
“Like every kid he needs to learn that when mommy kisses somebody, it doesn’t mean, she doesn’t love her child anymore.”  
“There’s nothing that can make me not love my son and you don’t want me to stay away from him, you don’t want me for yourself. So far it were mostly your ideas that brought him all the joy. You want him happy.”  
“I do. And I want you to be happy too.” Sara kissed Sofia gently. “I like it when you smile. Could you give me a little smile?”  
Sofia smiled a bit. “Of course. You make me happy, that’s why I can smile.”  
“Perfect. I’ll go on with that to get a lot smiles. What do I have to do to get a kiss?”  
Sofia kissed Sara. “I won’t deny a kiss if ask for it.”  
“I’ll ask you very often, be prepared.” Sara shifted her gaze to the left. “Are your teeth clean, Josh?”  
“Yes.” He observed his mother in Sara’s arms.   
Sofia wanted to turn, but Sara kept her in her arms, didn’t let her turn.   
“Shall we read you a story?”  
“Yes.”   
“We’ll do that in a minute. Would you come here?”  
Slowly he walked to Sara, who let Sofia out of her arms, bent down, got Josh in her arms and kissed his cheek.   
“Did you have a good day, Josh?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. Is it alright for you when I kiss your mom?”  
He shrugged his shoulders.   
“Josh, I love you, that doesn’t change because I kiss Sara.” Sofia got her arms around her son and Sara. “See, I can have the two of you in my arms and I can have both of you in my heart. She makes me happy, I like to be in her arms and I like to kiss her. And you know, she loves you. She goes with you to Disney Land.”  
“Yes.” Josh smiled. There it was again, Disney Land. Right, it had been Sara’s idea.   
“We want you to be happy, Josh.” Sara held Josh in her right arm und her left hand found Sofia’s hand. “And we hope you will be happy when your mom and I are together.”  
“You move to us?”  
“Not at the moment, no. But I will spend more time with you and your mom. Is that okay for you?”  
“Yes. We can play.”  
“We will play, Josh, I promise. And we can have another holiday together if you want.”  
“Disney Land?”  
“We can go back to Disney Land or anywhere else.”  
“Like family.”  
“Yes, like a little family.”  
“And like a little family, we’ll bring you to your bed and read you a story.” Sofia said. “And we’ll stay with you until you’re asleep. Which book should we read?”  
“Bambi.”  
“Okay, then Bambi it is.”  
They read three pages and Josh was sound asleep. His head on Sara’s lap, one hand in his mother’s hand. Carefully they tucked him in, kissed him once more, turned off the light and left the room.   
“I think, he’ll get used to the thought of us quickly.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her.   
“Yes. Soon he’ll be confused when you’re not in my arms.”  
“In that case he’ll be confuse very often.”  
“Really?” Sara chuckled.  
“Yes. There won’t be any hugs and cuddles when I’m at work. You need to wait until I’m off the clock.”  
“No long and passionate welcome back or goodbye kiss at my car door?”  
“No.”  
“Honey, are you ashamed of me?” Sara had problems to stay serious. It had never crossed her mind to greet Sofia with a passionate kiss when she met her outside in the Fort.   
“No, I prefer to keep my private life private.”  
“Your guys would give you a hard time?”  
“One stupid comment and I’ll fire them. I didn’t know you want your relationship out in public. The one with Grissom wasn’t very public.”  
“He was my boss, we didn’t want any problems and we liked to keep private things private. And if you don’t want to kiss me goodbye outside at the car, that’s alright. I prefer to keep my private life private – still and too.”  
“Good. But I’m sure Steo will find out very fast.”  
“I’m sure he won’t mind.”  
“No, he likes you. He said, you’re good for me. I didn’t know he’s so right.”  
“What did he say?”  
“That you like me, that you enjoy your time with me and that I should spend more time with you because you keep my head away from work and problems. Plus I looked always happy when you were around. Looks like he knew how much I liked you before I did. When did you find out that you like me more than a friend?”  
“I’ve no idea. I tried to figure it out, so far I couldn’t. I know I wanted to spend time with you quite soon after we met again, but I didn’t think about it more. Or I didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to think about something, I thought, it couldn’t be.”  
“Who is ashamed of whom?” Sofia teased softly.   
“That has nothing to do with being ashamed. I can’t fall for a smug blonde, who was a pain in the ass when she was a CSI.”  
“You fell for this smug blonde.”  
“Yes. Maybe I need a shrink.”  
“You’ll need an ordinary doctor if you say something like that before. I’ll throw you off the balcony and kick your ass.”  
“Do you have a violence issue, Sofia?”  
“I’m in the security business, what do you think?”  
Sara let her fingers run over Sofia’s arms and stopped when her fingertips met Sofia’s. “I think these hands will never slap me. I believe, I won’t have to fear any kind of violence in our relationship.”  
“No, you don’t.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her softly. She felt this was an important topic for Sara.   
“I had a childhood with a lot of violence.” Sara whispered, feeling Sofia felt this topic was complicated and emotional for Sara.   
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
“Not today. I think, we’ve better topics to talk about. Better things have happened than my childhood.”  
“Alright. But if you want to talk, need somebody to listen, you know where I am.”  
“In my arms – I hope.”  
“Honey, I was there the last nights, before you’ve kissed me. Do you believe, I’ll stay anywhere else tonight? There’s no way that you’ll sleep alone on your side of the bed. Oh, and you better make sure we’ll have a king size bed in Disney Land, I won’t let you sleep alone.”  
“We have a king size bed, don’t worry. I liked the idea to share a bed with you when I booked the rooms. Another hint I tried to ignore – well no, I didn’t try to ignore that one. I enjoyed it very much.”  
“Why did you need so much time until you kissed me?”  
“I wasn’t sure what you feel and I didn’t want to destroy our friendship by doing something stupid and wrong. Even this morning I wasn’t sure if you feel something more than friendship for me. You were teased me, you dared me, it seemed to be obvious, the problem is, most times when something is too obvious, it’s not what it seemed to be. Why didn’t you kiss me?”  
“I’m really, really shy.”  
“I gave you so many tips, my sexy, stunning, smart blonde.”  
“Sorry, I’m really shy. You could have told me you want to kiss me and I had waited until you do it.”  
“It’s cute. You don’t strike me as a shy person. A shy detective. A shy head of security.”  
“That’s something different. That’s work. Work and private life are two different shoes.”  
“So when I kiss you in front of your guys you’ll kick my ass?”  
“Did you already forget that I won’t slap you? That includes kicking too.” Sofia kissed Sara’s throat gently. “If you kiss me in front of my guys, I need to look for another job because they won’t take me serious anymore. How does that look when their boss gets all softy in front of their eyes? I need to be tough and rough.”  
“I don’t think you’re a tough and rough mother when Josh comes to you while you’re working.”  
“I try not to give him everything he asks for.”  
“Sofia, as soon as Josh is around, your eyes are soft and filled with love. It’s impossible to see you as a bitch when you look at him like this.”  
“Do you think they see that too?”  
“Yes.” Sara laughed. It was more than obvious.   
“Bugger. I’m a softy - officially.”  
“Yes and I like that – and I really like what your lips do.” Sara had her eyes closed and savored Sofia’s kisses on her throat. It felt good, it gave her butterflies in her stomach.   
“I can feel that. Don’t get too excited, you won’t get more. There’s a little boy in the room next door. And the balcony is too public.”  
“There’s always a backseat.”  
“We’re not sixteen anymore.”  
“Is that where you have sex when you were sixteen?”  
“No, my boyfriend had a nice apartment. You?”  
“I was too busy learning to get a scholarship and my foster parents didn’t like the idea of me being with a boy.”  
“I’m sure the scholarship was the reason why you were a good girl and not your foster parents.”  
“Yes.” Sara’s hand got under Sofia’s shirt and caressed her back.   
“Do you want to make me change my mind?”  
“No, I want to feel your skin. One word and I stop.”  
“Why don’t you feel my skin in our bed? I think I prefer to go to bed early and have a little try of your lips on mine instead of sitting here, having a beer and watch the sunset.”  
“Sounds like an idea, I like too.” Sara smiled. Especially because she could have Sofia in her arms or be in the blonde’s arms this way. A very good alternative to their ordinary evening program. 

“Mom! Mom! There’s Pluto!” Josh jumped up and down and pulled his mother towards the huge Pluto. Whoever was in the costume made Josh very happy.   
“Pluto!” He stopped in front of the huge yellow dog, his eyes wide open.   
‘Pluto’ bent down and held his paw to him.  
“I’m Josh.”   
A kind of bark came out of the costume.   
“Can I take you home?”  
The yellow dog shook his head.   
“The other kids want to see Pluto too.” Sofia said with a smile.   
“Pluto, I want a dog and I want to call him Pluto because I want him as good as you are.”  
‘Pluto’ held his heart with one paw and put the other one in front of his muzzle, like he was embarrassed. He bent down again and hugged Josh.   
“Maybe I can take a picture of you and Pluto.” Sofia suggested.   
The big yellow dog nodded, took Josh in his arms and Sofia took a photo of her son. Then Pluto lifted Josh up and held him in his arms. Sofia couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Josh this happy. The face of her son was almost not big enough for the smile.   
“Thanks Pluto, you made a little boy very happy.” Sofia said, took Josh’s hand and pulled him gently away from the big yellow dog to let other children talk to Pluto. Josh followed his mother, his head always turning to see Pluto.   
“Sara, Pluto had me on his arms!” Josh told Sara proudly   
“Really?” Sara handed Josh a sandwich. While he and Sofia went to see Pluto, Sara had gotten some lunch for them and saved a little space under a tree for a rest.   
“Yes. I want a Pluto.”  
“When you’re a little bit older you can have a dog.”  
“How old?”  
“Let’s say when you’re ten.”  
“Now?”  
“No Josh.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you’re too young for a dog.”  
“No!”  
“Hey Josh, maybe you can take care of this fellow first.” Sara gave Josh a plastic bag. The boy opened it and pulled a stuffed Pluto out, almost half his size.  
“Pluto!” He hugged the stuffed animal.  
“Your own Pluto.”   
“Pluto!”   
“You spoil him again.” Sofia whispered into Sara’s ear. She should have known that her girlfriend bought more than lunch.   
“Sorry, I can’t help myself.”  
“You go on like this and he’ll never let you leave the Fort again.”  
“Sounds alright for me.” Sara took Sofia’s hand for a second. “Mad?”  
“No, bur why does he get a present and I don’t?”  
“What do you want?”  
“I want Dorie.”  
“Alright. Hey Josh, after lunch, what do you think of having a look what Nemo and Dorie are doing?”  
“Yes.”  
“Perfect. The ‘Finding Nemo Submarine Journey’ isn’t far away. Your mom wants to see Dorie.”  
“And the turtles.”  
“You name it, dude.” Sara grinned.   
“Open up!” Sofia held a slice of tomato in front of Sara’s mouth and fed it to her.   
“Mom, you need to eat vitamins, they’re good for you.” Josh lectured his mother while he chew on his salad tomato sandwich.   
“I’ll eat the salad, I really don’t like tomatoes.”  
“They are healthy.”  
“Alright.” Sofia pulled Sara’s head to hers and kissed her shortly. “Got my share of vitamins. They were on Sara’s lips.”  
“Really?”  
“No, she’s lying.” Sara laughed. “But your mom has a fruit salad as desert while you have a chocolate bar. She’ll get her vitamins.”  
“Why mom lied?”  
“Because she needed an excuse to kiss me. Your mom likes to kiss me like I like to kiss her. Adults are stupid sometimes, they look for an excuse to do something they like instead of just doing it.”  
Josh looked at his mom for a few seconds and then at Sara. “Mom, it’s alright when you kiss Sara. I love her too.”  
“Thanks Josh.” Sofia was sure her son had no idea how happy he made her with these two sentence. She had been afraid the whole time that he didn’t feel comfortable when she kissed Sara or didn’t like. She knew, he liked Sara, but it was something else to see how your mom kisses a person, you like. 

“I think Josh is the happiest person in the entire world.” Sofia embraced Sara, who stood on the balcony and watched how Disney Land slowly became calmer and prepared for the night. They stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel with a view onto the park.   
“Now you’re a liar again.”  
“Why?” Sofia furrowed her brows. Did Sara see how happy Josh was? The whole day was like paradise for him, he couldn’t stop smiling, he couldn’t stop being excited, couldn’t stop laughing.   
“Because I’m happier.” Sara kissed Sofia softly. “I’ve got you and that’s much better than being on Pluto’s arms.”  
“You haven’t been on Pluto’s arms, you can compare.” Sofia smiled and felt how the heat took over her body. Maybe Josh was the happiest child because she doubted he could be as happy as she was to have Sara.   
“I’ve got you in my arms, there isn’t anything better.”  
“What about being in my arms while I’m in your arms?” Sofia offered.   
“Your point.” Sara pulled Sofia closer, kissed her neck and put her head on Sofia’s shoulder. This was simply perfect. Why did she wait this long until she kissed Sofia? Why did she waste so much time?   
“Who would have thought we’d end up like this?” Sofia smiled.   
“Definitely not me.”  
“Me neither. Sometimes it’s good when things surprise you.”  
“Do you like surprises?”  
“Sometimes.”  
Sara got out of Sofia’s arms, took a plastic bag, that was hidden behind her and held it in front of Sofia. “Surprise.”  
“What’s that?”  
“A surprise.” Sara grinned.   
Carefully Sofia opened the bag and pulled another bag out. Inside was a pajama.   
“You buy me some clothes?”  
“Not only clothes, Dear.”   
“A pajama.”  
“Not only a pajama, Sofia.”  
Sofia eyed Sara and opened the plastic bag. She held the pajama in front of herself. “You must be kidding.”  
“No, I’m not.”  
“You’re nuts.”  
“And you’ll look adorable.”  
Sofia shook her head. Sara had bought her a bright blue pajama with around four dozen Dories swimming in white circles on it.   
“Why?”  
“Because you shouldn’t think I get only things for Josh. He has his Pluto, you’ve got Dorie. As a pajama and to cuddles.” Sara got a big stuffed Dorie out of a second bag. “When I’m not around you have somebody to cuddle. There’ll be a lot of nights you have to sleep without me, I didn’t want you to be alone and if anybody else than Dorie is with you in bed, I’ll be very, very jealous.”  
“Great, I fell for a crazy woman.” Sofia hugged Sara and kissed her. “Thanks. I’ll wear it. Could it be that you enjoy buying presents for other people?”  
“Yes. I mean, I think so. It’s kind of new to me. In my childhood…there weren’t many reason for presents, I wasn’t close to anybody. Most of my relationships weren’t the kind you made presents each other, I’m not good at giving and receiving presents.”  
“Grissom never made you presents?”  
“He did. Like a cocoon or kinds like that.”  
“That reminds a little too much of ‘Silent of the lamps’, if I’m allowed to say that.”  
“You are.” Sara smiled. “It’s Grissom, he gave me things, that were in his world valuable. It was the first time somebody really cared for me and I learnt a lot about relationships. Even if it doesn’t look like that with his kind of presents.”  
“I can tell you, Josh loved all presents you made him so far.”  
“What about you? How wrong am I with the PJ?”  
“You’re not wrong, it’s only…aren’t you suppose to give your girlfriend sexy underwear?” Sofia grinned.  
“Am I?” Sara chuckled. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen you in your underwear therefore I can’t tell if you have already sexy underwear. Besides, I’ve never bought any kind of clothes for another woman.”  
“Not? How comes?”  
“They weren’t nothing more than some affairs and I don’t waste money in affairs.”  
Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her. That was a much better presents than the pajama. To hear this sentence was the best presents. She wasn’t an affair for Sara, Sara was serious about her.   
“You can buy me as many Disney PJs as you want, I’ll wear them all.”  
“Until I’ll make you remove them.”  
“Honey, there’s a child in the room, again. You need to keep your hands by yourself. That’s the problem with this relationship, it’s not like an affair, you have to wait.”  
“I can be very patient if I have to, if I think it’s worth.”  
“Do you think it’s worth?”  
“Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. But one day, my Dear, I’ll get you alone and then I’ll remove all your clothes and replace them with kisses.”  
“Sounds good to me.” Sofia snuggled into Sara’s arms. 

Part 7

Sara’s eyes popped slowly open when she realized, somebody was coming into the room. She felt how a body sat on the edge of the bed and a hand caressed softly her arm. She recognized the hand immediately and a little smile appeared on her face. This was the best way to wake up. In the bed of your lover, after a shift, that ended after eight hours and no signs of that you had to start early this night. The only downside was that Sofia had to work and couldn’t join her in bed. But they had breakfast together, Sara brought Josh to kindergarten, came back, the security men at the gate didn’t search her again (they became a little bit sloppy anyway since they knew, Sara and Sofia were a couple. Somehow they couldn’t keep it as a real secret for a long time) and she got sent to bed by a long and passionate kiss of her girlfriend.   
“Sorry to wake you up.” Sofia whispered. It was a little after four, time to get up anyway.   
Sara’s arm got around Sofia’s waist and pulled her into her arms. Something was wrong with her girlfriend, she could hear it, the voice of the blonde was unsteady. And she was restless, like there was a problem, she couldn’t solve alone.   
“What’s wrong, Honey?” Sara whispered and kissed Sofia’s hair.   
“I could need your help.”  
“Of course. What can I do?”  
“Josh.”  
“Anything wrong with him?” Sara was wide awake now. Sofia seemed to be very calm, so there couldn’t be anything serious, but something was bothering her.   
“He asked for his father.”  
“What?” The thing Sofia had feared most.   
“Yes. And I told him, I’ll get you and we’ll tell him about his dad. I know, you can’t tell him anything, but…I could need you around when I talk to him. I know it sounds ridiculous and I should be able to talk to my son about his father and don’t make such a fuss about it…” The rest of Sofia’s sentence got washed away in a kiss. Sara knew it was difficult for Sofia to talk about Josh’s father to her son, who wanted answers and children weren’t too sensitive when it came to questioning an adult.   
“Shut up, you’re talking stupid.” Sara said gently and kicked the blanket away.   
“If you need to sleep…”  
“Sofia, we should go to Josh, he’s waiting for an answer.” Sara took Sofia’s hand and pulled her with her. “It’s time to get up anyway, you know that. I always get up when you get Josh home from kindergarten.”  
“Yes.”  
“So, why should I stay in bed?”  
“I would if I could. Hiding.”  
“You’re a brave head of security, you don’t hide because your son asks you questions. Questions you knew he’d ask sooner or later.”  
“I’d prefer later. Much later.”  
“Your son is very bride – just like his mother – he asks a lot of questions and he doesn’t waste time until you think, he’s ready. He makes his own decision when he’s ready and it appears to me, he is ready now. Otherwise he hadn’t asked.”  
Sofia sighed. Maybe Josh was ready to hear about his father, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk about him. She felt like she could use another two, four, six, twelve years.   
Josh was in the living room, sitting on the thick carpet and playing with toy cars.   
“Hey Josh.” Sara sat next to him.  
“Sara.” He climbed on her lap. “Slept well?”  
“Yes, I slept well. Thank you very much. How was kinder-garten? Did you have fun?”  
“Yes. Played in sand, built a castle this big.” He spread his arms out as wide as possible.   
“Did you play with Alison?” Since two month Josh played only with Alison, a girl from a farm not too far away. Sofia had mentioned her like her son’s first girlfriend and they had met a few times on the weekend to play. Sara and Sofia got along very good with Alison’s parents and both had taken care of the other child, when one couple wanted to go out for dinner or a show on The Strip.   
“Yes. And Eric.”  
“Who’s Eric?”  
“New boy, he lived in Vegas before. His father is an idiot.”  
Sara raised an eyebrow and looked at Sofia, who sat next to them.  
“Joshua!”   
“Eric’s mom.”  
“I’m sure she didn’t say that.”  
“She said to Miss Bixx, Eric heard it.”  
“Isn’t Miss Bixx the kindergarten teacher?” Sara asked. This didn’t sound like a conversation you had with the kindergarten teacher in front of the children.   
“Yes, she is. And I can’t imagine that Eric’s mother said to Miss Bixx that Eric’s father is an idiot. I don’t think she wants Eric to hear something like that.”  
“Eric hiding behind couch when they talked. Miss Bixx and Eric’s mom friends.”  
“Why would she call his father an idiot?”  
“Because he left . Mom, my dad an idiot too?”  
Sofia wanted to say ‘no’ but something made her stop. A man, who didn’t want children, who didn’t care about his children, who didn’t love them, was more than an idiot. But she couldn’t say that to her son, could she? She needed Sara.   
“Does Eric know his father?” Sara asked carefully.  
“No.”  
“Eric father left when Eric was very young, he can’t remember him.” Sofia knew about the boy’s father and the story.   
“Did dad leave too?”  
“No.”  
“Where is he?”  
“He…it’s complicated…” Sofia looked at Sara. Why was this so complicated? Why did Josh ask about his father? Why couldn’t he wait with this question a little bit longer? Something like twenty years or so.  
“Your dad doesn’t know about you.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…when I found out that I was pregnant with you, he was gone. I didn’t know him long, we broke up, he moved to another city and I found out about you.”  
“He doesn’t love me?”  
Sofia wanted to tell her son, that his father would love him when he knew of him, but she was sure, he didn’t care. Like with his other son, he wouldn’t want to have any contact.   
“He doesn’t know of you, Josh.”  
“Why don’t you tell him?”  
“I don’t know where he is.” Of course she could find out. Or Sara. It wasn’t a problem for them with the name to find Josh’s father. But Sofia doubted, it would change anything.   
“Find him? Want dad too.”  
“Oh Josh, come here.” Sofia pulled her son in her arms. She tried to hold back tears, but they just started to run down her cheeks. Of course he wanted a father, every child wanted a father and a mother. How could she explain that it wasn’t possible? How could she explain her almost four years old son, that he would never have a father?  
“I know you want a dad. The problem is…some dads don’t want to be with their children and some dads don’t know that they’ve children.”  
“Why?”  
“I don’t know, Josh. I can’t understand it either. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, I’m so happy to have you. And I can understand that you want a dad.”  
“Family is mom, dad and child.”  
“That is one kind of a family. I know in your books there are always a mom, a dad and a child. That’s how most families look like. But there are a lot of children, who have only a mom or only a dad. And then there are families with two moms or two dads. The most important thing about family is, that you have people, who love you, who are there for you and make sure, you’re alright. You have a family, Josh. You’ve got a mom and you’ve got Sara. She loves you very much. Believe me, she is better than your dad. She would never leave, she wants to be with you and wants you happy. She cares for you. And there’s Steo, he loves you too. This is a family, Josh. A very special family.”  
“Why does dad not love me?”  
“There are people.” Sara started carefully, getting the attention of the little boy to her. “Who can’t love other people.” For many years she considered herself as one of these people.   
“Why?”  
“I don’t know. They never learnt it?”  
“Dad can’t love?”  
“No.” Sofia said. “No, he can’t love other people. He is only interested in himself. It’s like some children don’t want to play and share with other children. They don’t care for others, they want only their best.”  
“Don’t understand.”  
“I don’t understand those people neither, Josh.” Sofia kissed her son softly. “Don’t be sad because of him.”  
“Want a dad. Dads go to sport.”  
“Hey, I can go with you to football or basketball.” Sara poked Josh in his side. “Or do you think I’ve no idea of basketball or football because I’m a woman? Let me tell you, young man, I know a lot about Basketball and football. And if you want to play, I’ll come with you. Same with baseball. I love ball games, you don’t need a father to play them or have somebody, who comes with you. And if you’re nice, I’ll teach you some tricks, show you how to throw the basketball perfectly.”  
“I want to play soccer.”  
“Soccer? Alright, we’ll go to Vegas tomorrow, buy you the best soccer ball, get you some shoes and…and a goal.”  
“UNLV jersey.”  
“Of course, you need one of those. We’ll get some jerseys and the next time Alison is over, we’ll get your mom, Steve and Greg to join us and play soccer.”  
“Can Steo be dad?”  
“No Love, he can’t.” Sofia sighed.   
“Why?”  
“Because he isn’t your father.”  
“Can’t become dad?”  
“No.”  
“Why?”  
“You can’t just become the father of somebody. Steo…is your friend.”   
“Why not dad?”  
“Because…” Sofia looked at Sara. How should she explain? Should she come up with this stupid story about bees and butterflies?   
“You know that there’s a difference between a man and a woman, don’t you?” Sara asked. Maybe they needed to start it from a different point.   
“Yes. Men penis, women breasts.”  
“Exactly. And you know that you were in your mom when she was pregnant.”  
“Yes…did you swallow me?” He looked at Sofia, who was so perplex that she couldn’t answer right away. How could he come up with such an idea?  
“Uhm…no! No, I didn’t swallow you.”  
“How did I get into you? Is there another baby inside?”   
“No.”  
“Can only have one baby?”  
“Well…I can have more than one baby, but I won’t have another baby.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…” Okay, no bees, no butterflies. She had never used any of these stupid symbols, there was no reason to start with them now. “Í love Sara and with Sara I can’t have a baby. Only a man and a woman can have a baby.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…it’s like with the horses…” Horses? She didn’t want to talk about bees and butterflies but about horses? Wasn’t that the same only with other animals? “You only have a foal when you have a stallion and a mare together. Only a man can make a woman pregnant.”  
“How?”  
Great, now there was no way back. Sofia looked at Sara.  
“I’ll be right back.” Sara got up.   
“Where are you going?” Sofia didn’t want to, but she knew, she sounded like she was about to panic. Sara couldn’t go, she couldn’t leave her alone. She needed her girlfriend, she needed the support.   
“No need to panic, I’m back.” Sara sat with a grin next to Sofia and Josh, kissed both on their cheeks.   
“Good.”  
“Josh, do you know what this is?” Sara opened her hand and a pad appeared.   
The boy shook his head.   
“This is a pad. There is one time a month when a woman can get pregnant and around that time she loses an egg, what makes her bleed. There are eggs inside women, not like the one you have for breakfast, much smaller.”  
“Do I have eggs in my belly too?”  
“No, men don’t have eggs. They’ve got semen.”   
“In the belly?”  
“No in their penis. And for a baby you need an egg and semen. That’s why your mom and I can’t have a baby, nobody of us has semen.”  
“Can’t you borrow some?”  
Sara looked at Sofia. Of course that was possible, but she doubted, it was the right time to tell Josh about a sperm bank.   
“Yes, you can do that. But if you do that, you don’t know who owned the semen. They don’t tell you, they only give you the semen.”  
“Steo’s semen?”  
Of course this was the easiest way for Josh. Stephen was a man, if his mom needed a man to have another baby, Stephen was his first choice.   
“No.”  
“When the egg is in your belly, you need to eat semen?”  
“No, that’s not working. When you were in me, you weren’t exactly in my belly, because you’re not food, you were in my womb. That’s something only women have, like eggs. A special place only for babies and nothing else. No food, no drinks. And when you were nine month in there, you had to come out because you were big enough. You came out through my birth canal. It’s like you were here.” She put her hand on his belly. “And had to make your way down.” When she left her hand run softly over his belly, he started laughing. Like his mother, Josh was very ticklish.   
“Now, you’ve got a penis and you can pee with it.”  
“Yes.”  
“And when you need to poo-poo it comes out of your butt.”  
“Yes.”  
“And a woman has a vagina in between, that’s the end of the birth canals, where babies get out. And it’s also how you got into me. When a man and a woman are in love they kiss and touch each other.”  
“Like you and Sara.”  
“Yes. You know I love to kiss Sara and be close to her because I love her. When a man loves a woman, they kiss a lot and…he puts his penis into the vagina.”  
“To make a baby.”  
“Yes. And because it feels nice for the man and the woman. Like kissing and touching. It’s a way to show love. So the penis is close to the egg, the semen has to fight it’s way through the birth canal to get to the egg and only the fasted, best and strongest one can get into the egg. Out of these two comes a baby. In my case, it was you.”  
“There were thousands of semen, Josh.” Sara added. “And you were the best one. That alone makes you very special.”  
“I’m the winner?”  
“Yes.” Sofia kissed him. “You are the best one.”  
“But why dad go? When he loved you.”  
“Sometimes love ends very fast, you can’t plan that. When I found out that you were inside me, your dad was gone because we weren’t in love anymore. And he had told me, he doesn’t want to have children. So I never tried to find him because I want you to be with people, who love you.”  
“He is an idiot.”  
“Yes he is. A very big idiot.” No need to deny that anymore.   
“It’s not important that you have a mother and father, Josh, it’s important that you have people who love you.” Sara got both in her arms. “I love you and I love your mom and I hope, that makes you a little bit happy.”  
“I love you too, Sara.”  
“Thanks Honey.”  
“I’ve two moms.”  
“Yes you have.” Sofia put her head on Sara’s shoulder. They were a family, not the kind of family you found in children’s book, but they were happy and they were there for each other. That was the most important thing. 

Sara’s hand ran softly over Sofia’s hair. The blonde had brought Josh to bed.   
“This topic will come back to us soon.”  
Sara knew exactly what Sofia was talking about. Josh had stopped asking for his father after their talk, but both women knew, it wasn’t over. There were more questions in the little boy’s head, questions, he didn’t know of right now, questions, that would come into his mind at some point and he wanted answers.   
“No.”  
“Any idea?”  
“I’m not sure how much I should give you advices what to do. I’m not his mother, I’ve no idea about his biological father, never met him…”  
“You know Josh, what’s best for him?”  
“I’d like to find a solution, that’s best for him and you. I worry about you too, Sofia.”  
“I’m not important, he is important. I don’t care about this man, he does.”  
“How would you feel to contact him?”  
“How?”  
“We both know there’re ways to find out where he is and for both of us it will take less than one night to have all his contact details you need. The question is, do you want to contact him? Do you want him in Josh’s life? Do you want to listen to his excuses why he doesn’t want to see his son? Doesn’t want any contact.”  
“I don’t want Josh to hear this from him. I don’t want him to suffer even more. But I can understand that it’s hard for him that his father has never been in his life.” Sofia closed her eyes. She wished, she had a solution for this.   
“This might sound stupid or ridiculous…” Sara started carefully.  
“Say it. Any idea is better than nothing.”  
“Did you ever think of getting in contact with his high school sweet heart?”  
“No, why?” She didn’t want to have any contacts with the ex of her ex, she wanted her son to understand, that his biological father made the mistake by staying away and not the little boy.  
“She has a son with him, Josh has a half brother.”  
“I don’t know her name, I’ve no idea where she lives now…and how does that gives him a father?”  
“It doesn’t. But a brother. And this boy knows maybe what Josh feels. Maybe it helps him to talk to his brother, who got also left alone by their father.”  
“Why should he talk to Josh? Why should he care?”  
“Because just because he’s the son of an idiot, it doesn’t mean he’s an idiot too.”  
“I don’t know.”  
“I told you, it might sound ridiculous.”  
“Why did I fall for an idiot?”  
“Because you got a wonderful boy out of this relationship.”  
“Yes, and there’s nothing in the entire world that can make me want to change anything about him being my son, but I want a happy child, I want him to have everything he needs. Why do I have to break his heart and tell him, he’ll never have a father, who’ll care?”  
“Sometimes people change their mind when they’re older. The question is, do you want this man to be in Josh’s life if he decides in twenty or so years, to be a part of his son’s life.”  
“In that case Josh is an adult and can make his own decision. Me, I don’t want him in his life. Never. But I think I need to tell him, he has got a son. If he isn’t interested, I’m not surprised. The thing is, if I don’t tell him, he has got a son, another son, I can’t tell Josh, his father knows about him and isn’t interested. He will ask why I don’t tell his father about him and he would be right, I need to tell him. It’s only fair, even if I ignored that fact for years. Damn it, I hate this.”  
“Do you want me to find out where he is?” It was no problem for Sara to find the man as soon as she had his name. It wasn’t legal, but sometimes it was better not to care about rules.   
“No, I can do that myself.”  
“Since when do you have the computer systems for that?”  
“I won’t talk with you about my work, Sara.” Sofia smiled a bit. She had a few technical things, Sara didn’t know of. Most of them weren’t exactly legal.   
“I’ll forget the last few sentences, that might be better for both of us.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her forehead. She could see, her girlfriend wasn’t happy with the situation, but there was nothing she could think of, that helped Sofia and Josh now. 

“Can I talk to you?” Stephen stopped Sara before the brunette could enter the house.   
“Sure.” She held in and closed the door. “What’s up?”  
“Sofia.”  
“Anything happened?” Immediately there was a lot of concern in Sara’s voice. She had been away for less than twelve hours, everything seemed to be alright in the morning, as far as Sara knew, Sofia had no appointments outside the Fort.   
“No, don’t worry. She’s alright – physical. Shall we?” He opened a door of the barn and let them in. Only two horses were here, no human, the perfect place for a private conversation.   
“Steve, tell me what happened.”  
“Like I said, she’s alright physically. Her mind is the problem. She needs to get her head clean.”  
“It’s difficult, Josh asked for his father.”  
“I know, he asked me about him too. She found him, she knows where he is.”  
“Really?” Sara knew Sofia had said she could find him, that she found him this fast was a little surprise for Sara. “Did she…?”  
“No, she didn’t call him. Every time she picks up the phone, a dozen reasons why she should not call him come up in her head and she puts the phone down. Do you know anything about this man? You knew her four years ago.”  
“Yes and no. We worked together, that was all. You know, we weren’t friends, we…I wasn’t nice when Sofia joined our team first, I wasn’t easy to work with when she became a detective. Therefore we had no private contact, I didn’t even know, she had a boyfriend. I never saw her in company of a man.”  
“What did she tell you about him?”  
“He has a son with his high school sweetheart, doesn’t care about the boy and told her, it was the most expensive fun, he ever had. That’s why she never told him about Josh, she doesn’t expect him to care, doesn’t want it to look like, she wants some money.”  
Steve shook his head. “The world is filled up with dickheads. You make a women pregnant, you take of them.”  
“He sends money to his first son.”  
“A child needs more than money.”  
“I know and because he won’t give anything more than money to Josh, Sofia never told him about his second child.”  
“He needs to know, he needs to take responsibilities.”  
“What do you want to do? Drive to wherever he lives now, force him into your car, drive him here and make him play with Josh?”  
“Sounds like a good plan with me. I’ll stand the whole time behind him, with a loaded gun, ready to shoot the bloody son of a bitch if he hurts Josh in any way.”  
Sara had to smile. The quiet Stephen wasn’t that quiet and nice when it came to Josh and making sure, the boy was fine.   
“Shall I talk to Sofia again? That she should call this man?”  
“It will be hard, she won’t like it, but I think, it’s the best. She won’t get this topic out of her head otherwise. And she’ll feel guilty when she goes on telling Josh, his father doesn’t want to see him, if she doesn’t tell this man, he has another son. If he says, he doesn’t want to see Josh, she can tell her son, his father is an idiot and move on.”  
“That’s what I think.” Sara took a look on her watch. “I better get in, breakfast is ready.”  
“I’ll be up in half an hour and get Josh for kindergarten. After that, Sofia should make this call.”  
“I’ll talk to her and will be with her, when she makes the call.”  
“That’s good.” He smiled. “You’re good for her.”  
“Ditto.” Sara put her hand shortly on his shoulder. They both loved Sofia, not in the same way, but that didn’t change anything of the fact, that they would do everything for the blonde. And for her son. 

“You needed over five minutes to get from the gate to here.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her as soon as the brunette entered the kitchen.  
“Am I under surveillance?” Why did Sofia know when exactly she arrived?   
“Yes of course. My men tell me every time you arrive, it’s their job. They don’t search your car anymore – or only occasionally and very sloppy – but they still let me know, when you arrive.”  
“Means, whenever you’re having fun with somebody else, I can’t caught you in the act because you’ll be warned. Not very fair.” Sara kissed Sofia’s throat, let her eyes run through the kitchen shortly. “Don’t even think about it, Josh!”   
The boy put his hand down and looked apologetic at Sara and when he felt the look of his mother on himself, he looked down. The spoon in his hands and the glass with the chocolate spread in front of him said enough. Sara had ruined his little plan to get some extra chocolate. He was so sure, the two women were too busy with themselves, he felt safe and got caught.   
“Morning Sara.” He tried to get himself out of trouble.   
“Good morning you little chocolate thief. Don’t you think it’s not smart trying to get your spoon in the glass when your mom and me are around?”  
“Both busy.”  
“Just because we say hello to each other it doesn’t mean, we don’t have an eye on you, son. I’ve always an eye on you to make sure you’re alright – and sometimes to make sure, you don’t steal any chocolate. Spoon down, drink your milk and then it’s time to brush your teeth. You can try it alone, I’ll check.” Sofia took the glass with the chocolate spread away, stroke Josh’s hair shortly. She couldn’t really blame him, she had gotten her spoon so many times in the glass with the chocolate spread as a child and an adult, her mother had told her off many times.   
“Now back to you, my lovely girlfriend, where have you been?”  
“I met Steve outside, he’ll bring Josh to kindergarten.”  
“That’s nice of him, I’m quite busy today.”  
“He worries about you and so do I.”  
“I’m alright.”  
“Physically yes. You’ve got the details about Josh’s…”  
“Yes. And no.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…I don’t think it will change anything. It will only bring back old pain and reassure me, I was right and he’s an idiot.”  
“He might be, sounds like one.”  
“You think I should call him?”  
“It’s only fair. Tell him about Josh, likely he won’t care, but it’s the only way to tell your son honest that his father doesn’t want to see him.”  
“And if he does?”  
“Then you need to make the decision if you want him to see Josh. And if yes, when and where.”  
“Will you be there with us?”  
“What do you think?” Sara kissed Sofia softly. Of course she would be there if Sofia wanted her to be around. If her girlfriend needed her, she was there.   
“I think I’m not sure if I can do it.”  
“You can. For Josh.”  
“I have to.” Sofia kissed Sara shortly, got out of her arms and went into the bathroom to check on Josh. Sara sighed, considered for a second to skip breakfast when her stomach told her, she wanted one of these good looking bagels. With jam. And a decaf coffee. She hadn’t eaten anything during the night, she was hungry.   
And she wanted Sofia to call Josh’s biological father this morning, it could be a long and exhausting morning, she needed some energy.  
“Want some fresh eggs?” She hadn’t heard how Stephen entered the apartment nor the kitchen and flinched. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you.”  
“It’s alright, I just didn’t hear you. Josh is almost ready to leave.”  
“I heard the discussion in the bathroom. Somehow there were some chocolate spread traces on his fresh brushed teeth. Surprisingly Josh had no idea how they got there and why they were still there.”  
“He should know his mother is a good detective, she finds out little lies like this.”  
“Was.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“She was a good detective, you won’t get her back to the LVPD, Sara. We’ll keep her here.” Stephen smiled.   
“I don’t give up easily. She might stay a few more years, at one point I’ll get her back and have an investigation with lieutenant Curtis, future captain Curtis.”  
“You dream the same dream like my mother, very cute.” Sofia came with Josh on her hand in the kitchen. “Morning Steo, there is the little cheater. No more chocolate for him until he brushes his teeth the way he was taught. Brushing teeth doesn’t mean, you get your toothbrush in your mouth, move it once for the left to the right and you’re done. It’s a little bit more, he knows that. My son isn’t stupid, he’s only lazy.”  
“Sounds like you’re in trouble, Josh.” Stephen took Josh on his arms.   
“Yeah.”  
“Your mom is right, it’s important to brush your teeth the right way. Otherwise you’ll get caries and that’s very, very painful. We’ll practice it tonight together, shall we?”  
“Yeah.” The enthusiasm wasn’t big, but Josh knew, he had no other choice.   
“Good. Now say bye-bye to Sara and mom, we’ll off to kindergarten.”  
“Bye mom, bye Sara.”  
“Somebody is seriously mad at you, Sofia and I get the blame for it too. Not fair.” Sara complained. “Josh, I didn’t tell you off, I’d like to have a goodbye kiss, please.”  
Josh bent over and kissed Sara’s cheek, ignoring his mother.  
“Yeah, you can be mad at me until tonight, son. I love you anyway and I know, you love me too.” Sofia kissed Josh’s cheek. “Enjoy kindergarten.”  
“Alright, no kiss for mommy, we’ll leave anyway. I see you later.” Stephen grinned and left the kitchen with Josh.   
Sofia sat on her chair next to Sara and sighed.   
“You’re not popular today with your son, Honey.”  
“He needs to learn to stick to the rules…gosh, I sound like my own mother.” Sofia buried her face in her hands. “I’m a bad mother.”  
“No.”  
“Yes I am.”  
“Just because you sound like your mother? I wouldn’t call the captain a bad mother, I really like her daughter, she did a great job with her. She’s a little bit smug, a little arrogant sometimes, but most times an amazing woman I love.”  
“I wonder what my sons says about me.”  
“The same. Maybe not the smug and arrogant thing, but he’d say he loves you.”  
“And that’s why I’ve to call his father. Damn it.”  
“Want me to stay with you while you call him?”  
“No, I need to do this alone. I think.”  
“Alright.”  
“Is that okay with you?” Sofia took Sara’s hand.  
“Of course. I’ll be there if you need me.”  
“Thanks.” Sofia got up. “Time for the truth.” She left the kitchen to make the call from the living room.   
Sara followed her with her eyes until Sofia was out of sight. Then the brunette got up and started to put their breakfast back, put the dishes in the dish washer, wiped the table. Now what? Shall she wait for Sofia? Sit here like a mother waiting for her teenager to come back? No, she had no idea how much time Sofia needed, how much and fast she wanted her ex to know that they had a child together.   
Sofia was on the phone with her ex. Somebody, who left the city. Was that the only reason they broke up? Did the blonde have any feelings left for this man? Sara hated to admit it, but she felt she was jealous.   
“Stupid bitch.” She told herself off. “Get a grip.” She kicked her pants away, entered the shower and turned the water on. Maybe that would wash not only her body clean but also clean her mind so that her brain was working again. There was no reason to be jealous. Sofia hated this man for leaving. For leaving her? Leaving Josh? Them? Of course she hated him because he hurt Josh. And for being so selfish that he called his other son his most expensive fun he ever had. A comment like that was enough for Sofia to hate this man.   
So there was no reason to worry, to be jealous. None. Sofia didn’t call him to get back in contact with him. She didn’t want to talk to him because she missed him, wanted to hear his voice. She had hated the idea of calling him, she wasn’t comfortable with this. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him. She called him so that she could tell Josh, his father was an idiot, who wasn’t interested in him and they all could hate him.   
“Damn it, I’m such a stupid nutcase.”  
“To me, you look like a perfect woman.”   
Sara turned. There was Sofia! She was back from her call, sat on the bath tube and waited for Sara.   
“You can’t see stupidity and craziness. It’s not visible and besides, I’m not perfect.”   
“You are.” Sofia got up, wrapped a towel around Sara, pulled her in her arms and buried her face in the wet hair of the brunette.   
“Was it bad?”  
“First he had no idea who I was, then he didn’t believe that Josh is his son and he finished the conversation with the information, he never told me to give birth to the child, that I know, he never wanted to have the other child and doesn’t want to have any children at all.”  
“We were wrong, he’s not an idiot, he’s asshole, who should rotten in hell.”   
“I finished the conversation after these words, telling him, I don’t want any money. All I wanted was him to know that he has a son; another son and that we’re fine and don’t need him in our life.”  
“No, Josh doesn’t need a man like him in his life.”  
“I hope he’ll see it the same way.”  
“He will. One day.” Sofia kissed Sara’s throat. “It won’t be easy for him to understand why he has to live without a father, who is there for him. But he’ll realize, he has people in his life, who are there for him, who love him, will do everything for him and that is much better than a father, who doesn’t care. I won’t call him again and I’m sure, he won’t call me, this topic is over. The only thing I’m thinking of is your idea with his brother…I might give that a try. He should be eighteen now. Almost an adult.”  
“Yes.”  
“I try to remember what the name of his mother is, Issac didn’t talk much about her or his son, I’ve no idea where they live. He’s from Vegas, they could be there or moved to wherever.”  
“When he pays child support, there’ll be a note somewhere in his folder, where the child lives.”  
“Even more illegal than the thing I did to get his number.”  
“I can do it for you.”  
“That doesn’t make it legal, Sara, it only puts you at risk. No, I’ll ask my mother.”  
“The captain and something…shady?”  
“If it comes to her family, my mom has a huge gray area. Come on, sexy woman, time for you to go to bed.” Sofia pulled Sara in her towel out of the bathroom.  
“You’re the sexy blonde.”  
“I am. My girlfriend is the sexy brunette.”  
“You wrapped me in a towel, I can’t be that sexy.”  
“I only did that because it’s too cold for you without a towel. Believe me, I savored the look at my naked girlfriend before I made sure, she won’t catch a cold. Twenty degrees more and there wouldn’t be a towel around or. Same for a little bit more time on my hands.”  
“I should think of changing shifts to have the nights for my girlfriend.”  
“Shall I give you a phone to call Ecklie and arrange that?” Sofia cocked her head and pushed Sara on her bed. Their bed.   
“You’d do that.”  
“No, you like your shift, I don’t want you to work days, be apart from the guys, even the guys on days are not that bad.” Sofia made the decision, she had five more minutes, jumped next to Sara on the bed, placed her head on the brunette’s shoulders and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.   
“There were times when you had other things in mind after you threw me on your bed.” Sara complained with some mock.   
“Our bed, Dear. And I still have other things on my mind, unfortunately do these things need more time and I don’t like to rush when it comes to you. I’d love to enjoy every second…hi mom.”  
Immediately Sara’s thought were all on the call. It was impossible to think about sex when Sofia had her mother on the phone. Only the idea, that Sofia’s mother was somehow around, made Sara turn rigid.  
“Sofia, Honey, is everything alright? Usually you don’t call this early.” The voice of captain Curtis came out of the cell phone, Sofia had turned on speaker.   
“No, everything is fine. I need to ask a favor.”  
“What? Did Sara hurt you? Do you need me to track her down and make her disappear?”  
“What? No!” Sara almost yelled.  
“No, she’s here with me.” Sofia chuckled. If her mother knew that Sara was listening too? Well, now she knew.  
“Hello Sara.”  
“Captain.”  
“It’s good to know you’re nice to my daughter.”  
“Don’t tease her, mom, you she’s not only nice to me, she’s important for me and a big help.”  
“So why do you need a favor from your mother and not Sara?”  
“Because there are some things, you can do better. It’s about Josh.”  
“Is something wrong with him?”  
“No. And Yes. He asked a lot of questions about his father…”  
“This useless piece of shit better stays far, far away…”  
“I talked to him only a few minutes ago, he’s not interested in Josh and will stay away.”  
“Good. Josh is better off without him, he’ll understand that one day.”  
“I hope so. You know Josh has a brother, half brother.”  
“Yeah, it looks like your ex is good in leaving kids behind.”  
“Looks like. Sara and me talked about it might help Josh to see, that it’s not his fault that his father doesn’t want to be with him when he meets his brother, who had to put up with the same problem.”  
“That he’s the son of an useless and brainless wanker isn’t Josh’s fault.”  
“I don’t want to use these words to make it clear to him, mother. And by the way, when I said things like that when I was young, I got grounded.”  
“You were too young.”  
“Yeah, sure.”  
“Tell me, what can I do for you?”  
“I’d like to contact the mother of Josh’s half brother to find out, if she agrees on a meeting of the brothers.”  
“And you have no idea where she is?”  
“Nor what her name is. Or the name of her son.”  
“Which details can you give me?”  
“She was his high school sweetheart, the son must be around eighteen now. Issac is from Vegas, they might be still in Vegas.”  
“Okay, I see what I can do. I might even find out where he’s now and make him pay.”  
“No! Mom! That wasn’t the deal.”  
“There was no deal, you asked for a favor. I’ll do this favor to you and might give myself some pleasure by giving somebody a hard time. Nobody messes with my daughter or my grandchild.”  
“Sara heard you and she’s even more scared of you than she was before.”  
“Good. I killed two birds with one stone.”  
“Very soon we need a serious conversation, mother. I don’t like it when you scare my girlfriend. She hears every word you say.”  
“That’s why I say these words.”  
“You’re lucky that I know you wouldn’t say these words out loud if you don’t like her. Sara, my mom likes you, she said the last time we met, she’s very happy that we’re together.”  
“I’ll get back to you, daughter.” Sofia’s mother ended the call before her daughter could embarrass her more.  
“She likes that she can scare people, doesn’t she?” Sara sighed.  
“Yes. Especially people she likes. I’ve to leave you now, get some sleep, I’ll wake you up later with a kiss and late lunch. Love you.”  
“I love you too.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms. “Wake me up if you need somebody to talk.”  
“I’ll talk to you later, we both don’t have time to talk the next hours. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Sofia blinked at Sara. Work would be good for her, some time to get her head off her ex, the sorry excuse for a father. Josh was really better off without him. 

Lips on her lips woke Sara up. She smiled, got her arms around Sofia and kissed her back. This was the best way to wake up. Slowly she pulled her lover under the blanket and got on top of her, never breaking the kiss. Yes, this was perfect.   
“You haven’t opened your eyes yet, I could be anybody.” Sofia teased softly, her hands getting under Sara’s shirt.   
“I don’t need to open my eyes to know it’s you. I knew from the moment your lips touched mine. There is only one pair of lips that tastes like this and only one pair of lips I kiss. Yours.”  
“Good explanation.”  
“I know. You wear too many things, Love.”  
“Not my fault when nobody does anything against them.”  
“My name is nobody.” Sara grabbed Sofia’s shirt and started to pull it over the blonde’s head when Sofia’s cell phone started to ring.  
“Fuck!”  
“No, that won’t happen anymore, you’re back on duty.” Sara grumbled and let go of Sofia’s shirt. So much for some lovely wake up sex.   
“What?” Sofia’s voice was clearly annoyed when she answered the call. “What? Okay. Thanks.” She closed her phone. “Bugger.”   
“What’s up?” Sara realized her girlfriend tried to hide in her arms, tried not t face the world. “Anything happened?”  
“My mother.”  
“Did anything happen to her?” Sara was alert. Was Sofia’s mother injured?   
“She’s here.”  
“Here?”  
“Yeah, that was a call from Mike, who is on duty at the gate. My mother just arrived and is on her way to see me. Us.”  
“Okay.” Sara wanted to leave the bed but Sofia made her stop by pulling her arms around the brunette, pushing her on the mattress and made her unable to leave with her legs over Sara’s legs.   
“Sofia, your mother is on her way here…”  
“Yes. She knows her way, she doesn’t need a butler.”  
“Do you want to greet her like this? In bed?”  
“Yes.”  
“She’ll kill us. Or at least me.”  
“She won’t. She comes to our house, knows we’re in love, there’s no reason to hide. We’re not teenagers anymore, we don’t do anything bad. Plus she has Josh with her, she will be a good grandmother with her grandson by her side.”  
“I hope so.” Sara didn’t feel comfortable. She was always a little bit scared of Sofia’s mother, to meet her in this position wasn’t what she thought a good way to meet your mother-in-law. Future mother-in-law.   
“I’m only mad that she couldn’t be here half an hour later.” Sofia grinned. “I was sooo close to get laid.”  
“You know, there is no sex life when you’ve a child and a mother, who likes to visit you. Plus the fact that your lover is away all night long.”  
“Yeah. I think we need a sex plan. Like when we can have half an hour in the morning or early afternoon and nothing else is allowed to get in our way then. No overtime because you’ve a sex appointment and no calls because I’m in bed with you. Like every second day.”  
“Very romantic, Sofia.” Sara chuckled.   
“What? Romance too? I don’t know if we can fit romance in our tight plan. I’m afraid romance has to wait until we’re on holidays or have a few days off. There’s no time for romance in an ordinary day.”  
“I might think about our relationship again.”  
“Do you? Well, you can do so after you told that my mother.”  
“Who needs to think? I’m happy.”   
“Coward.” Sofia kissed Sara and snuggled into her arms. She missed spending time with Sara. Even there was barely a day they were apart, she missed the brunette even more than she did before. How could she cope the years before? How did she manage to be happy after she and Sara met again and the brunette was in Vegas? It was Sara, who called her and asked her to meet for a dinner. Why did this thought not cross Sofia’s mind? Had she been too blind? Did her feelings for Sara start later? When? In Los Angeles? Before? Sofia had no idea, she only knew, it seemed to be impossible for her to be apart from her girlfriend and even days like this, when they saw each other in the morning and had the whole late afternoon/early evening together, she felt like…incomplete.   
“Is that a proper way to meet your mother, Sofia?” Captain Curtis stood at the door, watching Sara and Sofia.  
“I can’t remember I invited you, mother. Maybe if you call before you come here, I’d greet you in another way.”  
“Don’t tell me I surprised you. Your guys checked my car and me, I almost shot them when they told me, I’ve to leave my gun with them. I am a captain of the Las Vegas police, I don’t leave my gun with anybody.”  
“They’ve their orders and – like you know as somebody, who gives a lot of orders – they need to keep them otherwise they’re in trouble. The rule is, everybody, who comes here, get checked, has to leave any kind of weapon at the gate.”  
“Do you leave your service at the door?” Sofia’s mother looked at Sara.  
“I never bring it here, it’s in the lab.”  
“Kept at her work place, a very sensible place for a gun, don’t you think?”  
“I’m a captain, I don’t walk around without my gun.”  
“If you ever here on business, you’re allowed to keep your gun. When you are here for private pleasure, you need to leave it at the gate or leave it at home. Where your grandson, by the way? You wanted to take him here.”  
“He’s somewhere with Stephen, they left in the direction of the barn.”  
“Ah, the new horse. Bubbles bought a new mare and Steo shows it Josh.”  
“Can’t you get up and leave the bed when I talk to you?”  
“We could be naked, mom.”  
“You wear a blue shirt, Sofia. I’m not blind, I can see you’re both dressed.”  
“You never told me she has x-ray eyes.” Sara smiled.  
“She has them and the ability to read minds, something that really bothered me when I was younger.”  
“But it never stopped you from not doing things I told you not to do.”  
“No.” Sofia grinned and got out of bed. “Because I had the ability to be out of your eyes quite often so you didn’t catch me every time.” She hugged her mother. “And you weren’t that mad because you did the same when you were a teenager, grandma told me.”  
“She lied.”  
“No, she told the truth and we both know that.”  
“Some things you shouldn’t tell your grandchildren.”  
“Oh come on, in thirteen years, when I’m the dragon and Josh wants to go out, you’ll tell him how much trouble I made when I was a kid.”  
“And it wouldn’t be a lie.” Sofia’s mother slapped the backside of the daughter’s head softly. “Get your mother a coffee and your girlfriend looks like she could use one too. Did Sofia wake you up, Sara?”  
“Actually yes, but I asked her to wake me up at this time.” Sara put on some sweat pants.   
“Good, don’t let her steal your sleep, you worked hard for it.” Sofia’s mother hugged Sara. “And stop being afraid of me, I won’t bite you.” She whispered in the brunette’s ear. “I quite like you.”  
“Then stop scaring me.” Sara laughed quietly.   
“I thought I did that by telling you I like you. Which I’ll deny if you ever mention it to anybody to keep my face.” Sofia’s mother blinked at Sara, put her arm around the other woman and pulled her with her in the kitchen, where Sofia had started the coffee machine and looked for some dinner.   
“I wonder what we’ll have to dinner tonight…Sara?”  
“Freezer, top shelf, blue box. Potato soup. The sausages are in the fridge, we only need to heat them up. Remember, I cooked enough soup the last time for another dinner and we wanted to eat it today.”  
“Right. I’d be lost without my housewife.” Sofia got Sara out of her mother’s arms, kissed her and pulled her on her lap.   
“Josh can be glad you have Sara, otherwise the poor boy would starve.”  
“No, Stephen took good care of him.” Sara said.   
“I’m not that bad, I can take care of my son too. I think, I managed quite good, he is healthy and happy.”  
“He is.” Sofia’s mother sat on a chair and handed an envelope to her daughter.   
“What’s that? Is that…?”  
“Yes. Everything you need to get in contact with her.”  
“How did you manage to get that so fast?”  
“I’m a detective, I know ways and people.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Will you use the information?”  
Sofia looked at Sara. No matter how her decision would be, she needed her girlfriend by her side to get through it. “Yes. I’m not sure when, but I will. First I need to talk to Josh about his father again. He’ll ask about him soon and I can’t tell him anything he likes.”

Part 8

“They still check you?” Bubbles asked amused after Sara had passed the security check and was in the fort.   
“Of course, that’s their job.”   
“You’re here every day, you’re the girlfriend of their boss, they should trust you.”  
“I could use Sofia and when I find out, they don’t check me anymore, I bring my gun and kill you, Gaelle and everybody around. You never know, I might be a hired killer.”  
“If you are, you’re a bad one. You had so many chances to kill me, we were so many times alone. Your boss can’t be satisfied with you.”  
“He doesn’t complain, only the asshole above my boss complains occasionally.”  
“That must be Ecklie.”  
“You know him?” Sara was surprised. She had not idea that Bubbles knew people from the lap – besides her and Greg.   
“I never met him, but I’m informed. Remember, my head of security worked there once, I checked her background.”  
“True.”  
“So, hit man, hit woman of course, will you kill me now?”  
“No, I’ll wait a little bit longer, they still check me. At least most times. Although I’ve to say, you’re not that thorough like the first times.”  
“And if you tell that Sofia, she’ll bite their head off.”  
“Yes, so we’ll keep it as our personal secret, otherwise you need to hire too many new people, too much work.”  
“True.” He laughed. “Will you join us for dinner tonight?”  
“Here or do you plan to go to one of these fancy restaurants where you pay more for a steak than other people earn in a week?”  
“The way you say that sounds like you don’t like my lifestyle.”  
“You worked hard for your money, it’s not my business to tell you how to spend your money, but I think, paying over a hundred bucks for a one person dinner, is overprized and a waste of money. You could do better things with the ninety-three dollar.”  
“Which ninety-three dollar?”  
“Well, your steak, salad and fries are worth seven dollars, that leaves ninety-three dollar you paid for a name, a chair, a table and a view, you don’t pay any attention too.”  
“So I should donate my ninety-three dollar to a charity organization?”  
“Your money, your decision. Sofia told me, Gaelle is a fan of material arts.”  
“Yes she is. Has that anything to do with the money?”  
“Sport is a good way to help people. And a good organization needs a patron, which is always a good headline.”  
“And good headlines sell more champagne. I see your point, my dear.”  
“She’s my dear, Bubbles! Always remember that.” Sofia came out of the building, Josh by her side.   
“Sara!” The boy let go of his mother’s hand and ran to Sara, who took Josh in her arms and kissed him.   
“Hi Sweety, did you sleep well?”  
“Yes. Missed you.”  
“I missed you too.”  
“Catch bad boys?”  
“Yes, we caught some bad boys with the police. I worked with your grandmother.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. She told me to say hello to you, she’ll come here tonight to see you.”  
“Yeah, grandma!”   
“That means, I’ll stay here while your mom will go out with Bubbles. We’ll have some fun with your grandmother, shall we make some pizza?”  
“Yes!”   
“Alright, we’ll do that. Now go and see Stephen so you’ll be in time for kindergarten. Take good care of you.”  
“Will do. Love you Sara.”  
“Love you too.” She kissed him again and let him down.   
“Looks like you stole the heart of my adopted son.” Bubbles grinned.  
“I didn’t know you adopted him.”  
“Of course I did. He’s my baby.”  
“This boy is MY son, just to remind the two of you of that. Not your adopted son, Bubbles, not your son, my girlfriend. And I don’t like the fact that he forgets to kiss me goodbye.”  
“I’m sure you got your share of kisses already.”  
“No.”  
“Not? You poor thing.” Sara kissed Sofia with a smirk. She knew, her girlfriend hated it, when she kissed her here, in front of her boss and even worse, in front of her coworker.   
“Get inside, your coffee is getting cold.” Sofia grumbled.   
“Oh, she made breakfast, what a lovely housewife. I’ll see you later, Bubbles.” Sara tried to hide her grin. This was a good way to end her workday and start a new day. 

“You need to make some more than that.” Sofia embraced Sara, who was making dough and kissed her earlobe.   
“Why? I think it’s enough for your mother, Josh and me.”  
“Yes, for three people it’s enough, but there’ll be more than three people for dinner.”  
“I thought you’re out with Bubbles and Gaelle.”  
“No, we’ll stay here. Looks like the idea of a self made pizza appeals to Bubbles and Gaelle more than a restaurant. You can show everybody what a great pizza chef you are.”  
“Pizza baker.”  
“Whatever. Oh, and Sara?”  
“Yes?”  
Sofia turned her girlfriend so she could face her, pulled her in and kissed her passionately. “I love you.”  
“Huh? I love you too.”  
“I love you more. You cleaned the apartment.”  
“Yes?” Sara didn’t get the point.  
“You can leave that to me, you’ve one apartment to clean, no need to clean a second one.”  
“Well, I barely spend any time in my own apartment, I’m here most times, what means, my apartment is clean while I make yours dirty. And because I don’t have to work tonight, got out of bed early, I had some time to clean. Don’t get used to it.”   
“Not? What a pity.”  
“So I make some more dough and have dinner with my lover. Sounds good to me.”  
“It does, doesn’t it?”  
“Do your mother and Bubbles know each other?”  
“Of course.”  
“Is he scared of her?” Sara cocked her head.   
“Ever met anybody, who isn’t scared of her?” Sofia chuckled.   
“No.”  
“See.”  
“How can she scares him?”  
“I’ve no idea how she does it, but I swear, she scares him. Not that he shows it or admitted it, but you can see it. Bubbles is scared while Gaelle isn’t. They go along very good, I think, they even met for dinner once or twice. Powerful women together.”  
“It always looks like Bubbles makes the decisions, in reality he makes the decisions, Gaelle lets him make.”  
“Exactly.”  
“Did you invite Steve?”  
“Shall I?”  
“Yes.”  
“Usually he doesn’t join dinners with Bubbles.”  
“Do they have any problems?”  
“No, no problems. Our cowboy is just too nervous to have dinner with his boss, he’s very sensitive.”  
“Cute.”  
“Hey, there’s only one cute person for you: me!” Sofia poked Sara.   
“No, there are quite a few people I call cute. You’re the only one I love…beside your adorable son.”  
“Yes, MY son. Get your hands off my son.”  
“You’re still jealous.”  
“Bite me.”  
“My pleasure.” Sara bit softly in Sofia’s throat and left a little mark there. “Cute, it’s almost heart-shaped.”  
“First you kiss in front of my boss and all my men, now you gave me a hickey. Are you undermining my reputation as a rough head of security?”  
“No, I’m proud of being your wife and show it.”  
“You’re making fun of me.”  
“A little bit.” Sara kissed Sofia. “Do me a favor, choose the wine for the pizza. I need to go on with the food before we’ll run late for dinner.”  
“I’ll do that later, first I need to go on with my work. I’m not off duty, this was only a little break.”   
“Don’t be too hard on your guys, rough boss.”  
“Careful, wife.” Sofia slapped Sara’s backside before she left the kitchen. She had to teach her girlfriend some respect…one day.

“Not only a CSI also a pizza baker, I’m impressed.” Bubbles came in the kitchen, where Sara was about to get the pizza out of the oven.   
“You haven’t tried it yet.”  
“If it tastes like it looks, it will be very delicious. And it looks like you’ve made enough pizza for more than seven people.”  
“I’m sure pizza won’t go off in this household.”  
“No, especially after we’ll be eight people.”  
“We will?” Sara didn’t know about an eighth person.   
“Yes, I invited a friend of yours.”  
“Who?”   
“Greg.”  
“Oh, you’ll make his day with this.”  
“I hope so. A very bright and intelligent young man.”  
“Don’t even think of getting him away from the lab to join your team.”  
“Or?”  
“You’ll be in big trouble. I want my Greg with me.”  
“What does Sofia say to this?”  
“That I’m allowed to keep him. She knows how close Greg and I are.”  
“So why don’t you invite him more often to here? After you practical live here.”  
“Because it means more work for your people and I’m only a guest here and can’t invite people.”  
“You just got my permission. And as long as he won’t steal any carpets, furniture or whatever he needs for his Las Vegas mob collection, he won’t give my men more to do.”  
“If he vanishes for a few minutes and his car looks overloaded suddenly, we all know what he did.” Sara laughed.   
“I’m sure he won’t do that. He’ll be too busy with slot cars. If I understood Josh correctly, he and Greg have a tournament going on.”  
“Yes, they are in some kind of competition. Kids.”  
“Aren’t they lovely? Let me take this.” Bubbles took the big plate with the pizza out of Sara’s hands.   
“Wow, the boss serves himself.” Gaelle mocked her husband. “What a change from a five star restaurant, where people do more than you want to being the waiter for everybody else. The kitchen look suits, you, Dear. Sara, you’re a good influence.”  
“Thanks. Hey Greg, what a nice surprise to see you.”  
“Believe me, my surprise was bigger when Bubbles called me.”  
“If you try to steal any furniture, he won’t invite you anymore.”  
“I’ll behave good – again.”  
“Good. You’re qualified for some pizza.”  
“How comes that our little dinner party became a big party?” Sofia’s mother took a seat next to her grandchild.  
“I don’t know. I planed for three people, suddenly Sofia mentioned, we’ll be seven and Bubbles surprised me a few minutes ago, that we’ll be eight. It must be my great pizza and us being such a lovely company, Marie.”  
“I think so too. Or do you have anything else in mind, Mister Trent?” Sofia’s mother put her best cop’s eyes on Bubbles, who almost shrunk a bit. Sara bit on her lips. Sofia was right, Bubbles was scared of Sofia’s mother. That was hilarious!  
“Of course not, captain Curtis.”  
“Not? Usually a man like you doesn’t change his expensive dinner plans for a pizza night.”  
“Mother, Bubbles isn’t a suspect, stop to interrogate him!” Sofia tried to stop her mother. Every time the two met, her mother seemed to be all cop and tried to find out, if Bubbles did anything illegal. Maybe she shouldn’t allow her mother to come over anymore when her boss was around.   
“If he has nothing to hide, I don’t interrogate him.”  
“He’s my boss.”  
“He’s here on private pleasure.”  
“It’s his house.”  
“I changed my mind because of your daughter-in-law, captain Curtis.”  
“What?” Sara furrowed her brows. What had she to do with this? She didn’t want to be involved in this discussion.  
“I thought, I’ll use the two hundred seventy-nine dollar for something else.”  
“Huh? Two hundred seventy-nine dollar?”  
“Three times ninety-three.”  
“Oh.” Sara flushed a bit.   
“You want the rest of us to know what the two of you are talking about?” Gaelle asked.  
“No, we don’t. We’ll let you know later, for now, it will be our little secret, won’t it, Sara?”  
“Okay.”  
“You’ve a secret with my boss? I’m not sure if I like that.” Sofia eyed her lover. “I’ll find out what it is.”  
“No, you won’t. Not until I want you to find out.” Sara grinned. She knew, Sofia would try a few tricks the next few days, but she had no intentions to tell her girlfriend what Bubbles and she had talked about and what it was all about with the ninety-three dollar. Sofia had to wait until Sara wanted her to know. 

“All guests are gone, the baby is in bed, the apartment is cleaned up, now we’ve the night off.” Sofia embraced Sara. After their dinner turned out to be a little party, that lasted until midnight, she was happy when only Sara and herself were left.   
“It was a party, I didn’t expected, but it was nice. Did you organize that?”  
“No, you were the party planer, my dear. Something you said or did to Bubbles, you wanted to tell me of.”  
“No, I don’t.”  
“Do you and Bubbles have secrets? Anything I should know about? Anything I’ve to punch the crap out of him for?”  
“He’s your boss, you’re not allowed to punch him.”  
“I told him, I’ll risk my life for him, but if he ever cheats on his wife or hits on my girlfriend, I’ll punch the crap out of him. Even better, I’ll let Gaelle know and we’ll both punch the crap out of him.”  
Sara laughed. “What did he say to this?”  
“He should have taken a male head of security.”  
“You risk your job.”  
“I’ll risk more than my job to keep you.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her hard. “I won’t let anybody take you away.”  
“Don’t you think it’s my decision too?” Sara asked sweetly.   
“No. You’re mine, I won’t share you with anybody else. I put the ‘Sofia’s personal property’ sticker on your sexy ass and that makes you mine.”  
“I didn’t see this sticker.”  
“You can’t see it with your eyes. Not like the hickey you gave me.”  
“It’s almost gone.” Sara chuckled. “Want a new one?”  
“Are you making fun of me?”  
“Yes.” Sara grabbed Sofia’s collar and pulled her with her to the bedroom.   
“Wait, do you think, you’re in charge?” Sofia protested when Sara closed the door and pushed onto the bed. “Do you think you run the show? Do you think…” The rest got washed away with a passionate kiss. Sara’s tactic was not only to ignore Sofia’s words but also to make her forget, what she was about to say. And the best way to distract her girlfriend was to kiss her. It worked all the time.   
“You think this way you can make me forget about your secret?” The blonde said catching her breath after Sara let go of her lips and stated to pull Sofia’s top over the blonde’s head.   
“I’m not that easily to distract, I…oh god!” When Sara’s mouth found Sofia’s nipples, the blonde had no other choice than forgetting what she was about to say. The sensation she felt running through her entire was too much, there was no space left for anything else than Sara and her lips and tongue, playing together with her finger with Sofia’s nipples.   
“So, you want to talk?” Sara said when she paused for a second, searching for Sofia’s eyes.   
“No! I want you to go what you were doing.”  
“Good.”   
“But first, I need you to lose this.” Sofia grabbed Sara’s shirt and pulled together with the bra over the head of her lover and threw both clothes away. She wanted to feel Sara’s skin and not a shirt.   
“This is why I like your nights off.”   
“And I thought it’s because I clean your apartment.” Sara placed a lot of little kisses all over Sofia’s body while Sofia’s hands ran up and down Sara’s body, started to open her pants and tried to make Sara lose it.   
“You’re wearing too many things, Sara.”  
“Make me lose those things that are in your way. I’ll do the same with your clothes, that are in my way. Really annoying.” Sara pulled down Sofia’s pants and like her girlfriend did before, she also got rid off the underwear in one move. The socks were gone in less than three seconds. Finally Sofia was naked an all hers.   
To make it fair, Sofia turned tables on Sara, got her with her back on the mattress and made her lose her remaining clothes. Savoring the feeling of feeling nothing else than Sara’s skin on her own skin, Sofia closed her eyes for a second. This was perfect. This was, what she wanted for so long, what she loved so much. There was nothing, only Sara. And it felt like they were one person, their bodies so close together like they shared the skin.   
“I love you.” Sofia whispered in Sara’s ears, kissing her at the same time.   
“I love you too.” Sara let her hands run over Sofia’s back, played with the long blond hair and sniffed her lover. Her perfume. Her body lotion. Her body odor. There was nothing else in the world than Sofia, her world was Sofia and nothing could come between them.  
“Mommy?”  
Nothing but a little boy.   
Wasn’t it amazing how fast you were able to cover yourself up and look guilty even if you hadn’t done anything wrong and there was no reason to be ashamed of anything? Somehow people reacted like this when they were caught having sex.   
“Josh!” Sofia was caught between covering herself up with the blanket and getting out of bed to her son, who had tears in his eyes. She grabbed the first thing that got into her hands, what was Sara’s shirt, put it on, found her shorts and walked to her son while Sara did the best to find something herself to wear.   
“What happened? Why are you crying?” She bent down and took Josh in her arms.   
“Nightmare. Monster.”  
“There were monster?”  
“In room.”  
“Okay, you know, there are not such things as monster, don’t you? And to make sure, there are no monster, we’ll have a look in your room together.” She walked with him in his room, turned on the lights. “So let’s have a look in your wardrobe.” She opened the doors. “See, no monsters. And none under your table. Now we’ll check your bed.” She lifted the blanket. “Nothing. And under your bed? Do you want to look or shall I?”  
“You.”  
“Okay.” She put him down, got on her knees and looked under Josh’s bed. “Nothing. There are no monsters in your room.”  
“Scared.”  
“The nightmare scared you? Do you want to stay with your mom?”  
“Yes.”  
“Alright.” Sofia brought Josh back in her room, where Sara was now fully dressed.   
“Did you guys make sure there are no monsters?”  
“Yes, but he’s still scared because of the nightmare.” Sofia let Josh down on the bed.  
“Well, looks like Josh has to sleep here.”  
“Yes.” Josh climbed into Sara’s arms.   
“Oh Honey, you’re ice cold, come under the blanket.” She tucked him in so that Josh was between her and Sofia. “Better?”  
“Yes. Safe.”  
“Yes, you’re safe here.”  
“Mom, what did you play with Sara?”  
“Huh? Playing, I didn’t…oh…you mean when you came in the room?” Sofia looked at Sara. The possibility that her son came into the room while she had sex hadn’t crossed her mind in a long time and she couldn’t remember if she ever made up a story to tell him.   
“Your mom and I had sex.” Sara said simply. She saw no point in coming up with a lie after they had told the boy where babies came from and how he got into his mother.   
“A game?”  
“No, it’s not a game. It’s fun, but it’s not a game. You remember when we told you where the babies come from?”  
“Yes.”  
“You have sex when you make babies.”  
“But you and mom can’t make babies.”  
“No, we can’t. But we can kiss and touch each other everywhere, it’s a wonderful feeling.”  
“Do you have sex with Steo?”  
“No!” Sofia told her son. “Only with your partner.”  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s a thing you share only with your partner. Not with friends or family. It’s a way to show how much you love the other one.”  
“Mommy doesn’t love me?”  
“Of course I love you. But you are my son, that’s something else. You don’t have sex with anybody from your family and you only have sex with adults. It’s something for adults.”  
“Like driving real car.”  
“Yes.”  
“Why only for adults?”  
“Because when you have sex, you are old and big enough to have children. And you are not old and big enough when you’re a child.”  
“When can I have sex?”  
The first answer that popped up in Sofia’s mind was NEVER! Then she realized, she sounded again like her mother and after she had promised herself, she didn’t want to sound like her mother all the time, she had to come up with another answer.   
“When you’ve got a car and a partner you have been with for a while and you really love. Somebody, who is your age.”  
“Alison?”  
“If you and Alison ever fall in love and you’re old enough. It will take a few more years, Honey, no need to think about this now.”  
“Need to be big.”  
“Yes.”  
“And to become big, you need to sleep.” Sara said.   
“Forgot teddy!”  
“Right, Mister Bear isn’t here. Do you want to get him?” Sofia asked her son.   
“Yes. No monsters in my room.”  
“Exactly.”   
Josh climbed out of the bed and ran to his room.  
“See, that’s what happens when you make the decision to go for a mother instead of a surf bunny, you end up caught by a boy when you try to have sex and the boy stays in the bed with you and your partner, what means, there’ll be another night without sex.” Sofia said apologetic. This wasn’t the way they had wanted to spend their night.   
“Yeah, less sex but much more love, so who needs a surf bunny?” Sara kissed Sofia softly. “Family is more important, don’t you think?”  
“I think I love you with every day more.” Sofia took Sara’s hand and pressed it. She couldn’t ask for anybody better than her girlfriend. 

Having one night off was always too short for Sara to relax and she had to admit, she didn’t like it when she had to go back to the lab. Usually it took her the whole drive from the fort to Vegas to lose her bad mood and get ready in her mind for work. Today, this drive was different than the other times. Sofia and Josh were with her and it was late afternoon when they arrived in Las Vegas. Sofia made the decision to join Sara for a few minutes to say hello to her old colleagues and because she didn’t want to have Josh in the lab or the police department, they stopped at Sofia’s parents place to leave Josh there.   
“There he is, my lovely grandson.” Sofia’s father greeted Josh. “You grew again.”  
“Yes.”  
“That means your mother treats you good. Hello Sofia.” He hugged his daughter. “How are you?”  
“Fine, thanks. How is your cold?” Sofia’s father had skipped the dinner yesterday because he had a cold.  
“Almost gone, the medicine of your mother worked. Hi Sara, ready for work?”  
“There’s no other choice, the bad boys need to be caught.”  
“That’s right. You have to do that tonight without the captain, she’s on duty here, taking care of this young man.”  
“My rookie. Stand straight!” Sofia’s mother came into the room and Josh stood straight.   
“Yes, Sir.”  
“Marie, he is too young for the police academy.” Sofia’s father told his wife of. “Give him a few more years.”  
“It’s never too early to start.”  
“Be his grandmother, not his captain. Do you think you can do that?”  
“Don’t look at me like that.”   
“I knew you could.” He kissed his wife. Most times, she was the one, who gave the orders, but he knew, whenever there was something, that was important to him, she was willing to give in.   
“So tell me, what happened yesterday after I left? Did you eat more pizza and chocolate, Josh?”   
“No, went to bed.”  
“You’re a good boy. It was time for you to get some sleep.”  
“Had nightmare.”  
“You had a nightmare? What happened?”  
“There were monsters in my room.”  
“Really?”  
“No, but I was scared.”  
“Did your mother come and helped you?”  
“No, mom had sex with Sara. Grandma, do you have sex with grandpa?”  
Sofia wished the floor would just open, suck her in and let her out at any other place of the world. Preferable as far away as possible.   
“What?” Sofia’s mother stared at her grandson.  
“I’m sorry mom. Dad.” Sofia knew her face was deep red and she didn’t dare to look at her parents.   
“For the question of your son or the information he gave us?” Sofia’s father asked.   
“I guess for both.”  
“We told him, adults, who are in love, have sex.” Sara tried to explain, not quite sure if she should say anything at all. A look at Sofia told her, her girlfriend needed some support, no matter how difficult it was.   
“You start early with this topic.”  
“Well…we kind of had no other choice.”  
“A locked door?”  
“I don’t like the idea that he can’t come to me when something happened.” Sofia disagreed. She had thought about locking the door for the rest of the night, but she didn’t like the idea, that Josh wanted to come to her because he was scared and stood in front of a locked door. That would scare him even more.   
“Looks like the two of you need a night without the rookie.” Sofia’s mother took Josh on her arms. “What do you think of having a little holidays with your grandfather and me?”  
“No holiday time.”  
“Yes I know. You’ll stay here, we bring you to kindergarten and you can build that bed, you wanted to build with your grandfather.”  
“With slide?”  
“Of course we’ll build a bed with a slide.” Sofia’s father said. “That was the deal.”  
“Yeah!”  
“So, the two of you will have a look when you can have two or three days off and have some vacation. And we’ll try to fix Josh.”  
“There is nothing to fix, mother.”  
“Of course there is. He should think of sport, cartoons and candy and not sex. My mother would have killed me if you had asked her a question like that.”  
“Well, I don’t think so, you would have been faster than her, killed me first.” Sofia turned to Sara. “See, I told you, I’m not like my mother!”  
“Sofia, she offered us to have some time alone, you don’t want to say anything now that might upset her. Why don’t you come with me, see your old colleagues and you talk about that later…or about cartoons, candy or sport?”  
“Coward.” Sofia got her arm around Sara. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”  
“And we’ll have a look where the new bed should be.”  
“Alright.”   
“Bye.” Sara waved to Sofia’s parents. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Josh. Have a good night.”  
“You too.”   
“Maybe we’re too open minded to Josh.” Sofia said when they were in the car.   
“Why?” Sara had problems to stay serious. Being out of the house of her future in-laws made the whole scene a little bit funnier.   
“Because the ground doesn’t open when you need it to do that. And my parents weren’t happy about his question – or his information.”  
“I’m sure they know we’ve got sex when we’re together, they even offered to take Josh for a few days so we can have some time alone and I’m sure they don’t expect us to read or visit a museum the whole time. We can do that with Josh around. And for the question, your son is a bright kid, they know that, they know, he asks a lot of questions and there is nothing wrong with this question. I bet they were caught so off guard because they had sex last night.”  
“Don’t put pictures in my head, Sara! Stop it right now!” Sofia closed her eyes, covered her ears and started to rock her head as she could forget this way what Sara had said.   
“Cute.”  
“One day he’ll do something what embarrass you, I wonder what you’ll say then. What will be your words, Miss Sidle?”  
“That’s our son, always asking question to find the answers. Just like his mothers.”  
Sofia stared at Sara blank for a few seconds before she pulled her in her arms, avoiding an accident only because they stood in front of a red traffic light. “You’re amazing. I love you.”  
Sara smirked. Seemed like she answered the question the right way.   
“And I love you and Josh. No matter what questions he asks and comes in the room in the night. It’s part of the family packet and there’s nothing in the world, that could make me change this packet for anything else. You and Josh, the two of you make my life complete.” Sara kissed Sofia softly and ignored the car behind them, that was honking the horn because the light changed to green. Some things were more important than a green traffic light.


End file.
